A Lucario's Quest
by Francis Clouser
Summary: Chaz, a Lucario with a desire for adventure, wakes up from a reoccurring nightmare, thinking that the day would go on as normal and unexciting. That is what he thought, before his wise, old teacher allowed he and his friends to investigate a legendary temple they had read about only to begin a long and excruciating hunt for nine relics that would reward the returner...
1. Chapter 1: The Relics

In this rather perfect afternoon, there was absolutely no thought within Chaz that made him worry as he raised his sword towards the sky. A stalwart, matured Lucario, he had laid eyes on his somewhat blurry Uncle Boel with a hunger in his ruby red eyes that came from the zeal of combat training. The sword he wielded in his right paw, held high, was weightless; Chaz could feel the thudding in his chest as Boel jovially ruffled his hair.

His uncle, a slender and intimidating fellow Lucario, was a courageous and renowned adventurer. He had explained to Chaz many times over the course of their sessions that he would give him the full details of his quests, but they seldom came. Chaz found that Uncle Boel only felt compelled to teach him everything he had learned as a skilled swordsman. Chaz found it odd how his Uncle needed not to say a word, and Chaz had followed the directions that he had not even been told. This was undoubtedly a perfect training session.

As suddenly as his Uncle even thought about speaking, there was a strange sound, and the sky had instantly turned a disgustingly vivid evening hue. Chaz couldn't move for fear. Boel had gone rigid, and his eyes seemed to be rolling back in his skull; a crimson circle was forming around his midsection, growing ever larger. Chaz called out, but he found that there was no voice to come from his lips as he felt himself beginning to realize, yet again with horror and confusion, that this was his ongoing, lucid dream. There was some kind of odd noise in Chaz's head. It was as if wood were being knocked on increasing in volume. Boel slowly fell to the ground and a shadow of an assailant stood not too far. Chaz rushed after him, finally ready to destroy his Uncle's murderer once and for all. The moment Chaz stepped forward, the ground gave way in half of a second.

He was falling... The ground was very close now, and he felt the wind rushing by his ears...

Chaz's eyes shot open, again hearing the knocking; it was more profound than it was inside of his head. Chaz groggily rubbed his forehead with an intense desire to sourly scold his visitor, who had began calling his name, urging him to awaken, as he stared into the reliable, dark, wooden ceiling with weary eyes.

"Chaz? Get up! We've gotta go!"

The sleepy Lucario had lost his anger at once, replacing it instead with a kind of sad relief. The thought came due to the fact that he was out of his nightmares, and also the relaxation that one of his best friends had come for him: Liam, the Lucario mage in training. Chaz threw his legs over the bed and made a distinct noise without even opening his mouth.

"Are you up, Chaz?" Liam questioned loudly from behind the strong door. Chaz wobbled to the door and without much time to think, his friend had stridden in, narrowly avoiding hitting Chaz, who hopped back in surprise.

"S-Sorry!" exclaimed Liam somewhat impatiently.

He had not changed at all since the other day, Chaz stupidly thought as Liam stood there, waiting for him to speak.

"It's all right," Chaz grunted as he saw some citizens of Elbery peering into his house. He cleared his throat loudly. "Can you close the door?"

Liam looked slightly inquisitive, shutting it hastily.

"You didn't have one of those dreams again, did you?" he asked without turning around, perhaps too embarrassed to even look at Chaz at that moment. Chaz thought for a moment, narrowing his eyes, taking a sigh.

"No," he lied. "I had a wonderful dream about..."

Chaz stopped. What could he lie about to make Liam feel less pressured? He peered at Liam's favorite cloak, but his friend had since turned around, and had been staring at him.

"...About what, Chaz?"

"Never mind."

Liam seemed to know perfectly well that Chaz had not been entirely honest. Though he didn't question it, he apparently had a very important matter on his mind, and was obviously bursting to say it ever since he had arrived.

"Anyway, we're late to see Mr. Dragos. We've gotta go." Liam suddenly stated loudly. Chaz had felt like an idiot for not even realizing it.

Hildebrandt Dragos was a brilliant-minded, somewhat comical human teacher, admired by many in the town of Elbery. He was quite old aged, but seemed to be young and playful at heart.

"Where's Jason?" questioned Chaz worriedly, taking note of his absence.

"I don't know. But we're running horrifyingly late, come on."

Chaz had begun to walk out, and was interrupted as Liam held up a paw.

"Aren't you going to bring your sword?" he asked.

Feeling for the thousandth time as if he were stupid, Chaz rushed back into the house quickly, gripping the handle of his Uncle's secondhand, famously expensive sword. He strapped it around his back and rushed out to Liam as they began to sprint through the town. He felt the air blasting his face as he ran nimbly past building after building his with friend, almost colliding with a female, jester-like character. As the jester had yelled insults at him, Chaz simply chuckled to himself and continued to follow Liam as his friend sharply took a detour through an alley next to a bakery. They were nearly to Dragos'  
study.

"Come on, Cha-" Liam turned around to shout, but almost the instant he turned back around...

WHAM! Liam had smacked into a human man who had appeared seemingly out of nowhere. Chaz skidded to a halt as Liam hit the ground, the man laughing cruelly; it was the leader of the small, Elbery town gang known as the Scarlet Tears.

The Scarlet Tears were a group of troublemakers. They were mostly a few young men seeking to simply do bad, and others got involved for protection. The leader of the bunch was a true ne'er-do-well who's name was Manny Gross. Blonde, oily hair hung halfway down his face as he scooped the bangs from his eyes, looking down at Liam. His black coat was in tatters, and his pants even worse.

"Hah hah hah! Well, look who can't see where they're going!" Manny called out to nobody in particular.

Chaz growled loudly, clenching his paws. "Don't you dare mess with him! Or you'll answer to me, Manny!"

Liam stood up and backed away towards Chaz. He knew more than anyone that, together, they were even stronger. Manny just took a sigh, putting his hands in his pockets.

"We have somewhere to be-" Liam started, but Manny interrupted him.

"Do I look like I care? You guys are fun to mess with. I ought'ta give you a slice of humble pie and send you on your way...  
Starting with him..." jeered Manny, referring to Liam.

Before Chaz even knew it, he had drawn his Uncle's sword out in rage.

"You feeling strong?" Chaz shouted. The blood was rising to his temple in anger.

Manny merely inclined his head and held up a finger, pointing behind Chaz, and before he had time to react, one of Manny's stronger, red-headed flunkies had somehow managed to grab the sword from his paw, as the gang member was wearing thick, strong gloves. Chaz reared around, trying to grab it, but the man was just too tall. Manny started laughing.

The other goon had grabbed Liam's wand without remorse, to the shouts of the wand's owner, the man bending his knee and trying to snap it in two. This was a big mistake, as the wand had shot a bright red beam out that struck Manny, freezing him in place.

Chaz, and even the others, stared on. Manny had fallen over, completely immobilized, his face in the expression of a smile,  
eyes wide open, as if he had been turned into a statue. His arms were still stuck out.

In a confused bustle, Liam used that moment to try and grab his wand back, and the thug simply hopped back and pointed the wand at Liam, having unfavorable results. Having no magical knowledge at all, a thick, stinky, gray cloud of smoke procured out of the wand with a bang, engulfing everyone, making them gag. Liam grabbed his wand back after a struggle,  
pointing it at both of the two men as a warning.

Chaz had tried stepping back as the other thug still had the sword pointed at him, and the man moved closer, almost jabbing him in the throat. Chaz gritted his teeth.

Liam pointed his wand at the sword-carrier's shoes, and a green ember shot out, catching the gangster's foot on fire.

"ED! You're on fire!" the other thug cried gruffly, but still shocked.

Ed danced around on the spot as the green flames went up his leg in an inferno, dropping the sword in fear, which Chaz equipped in his paw almost instantly before it hit the ground. He backed away, holding the other at bladepoint as Ed dashed off to kill the fire. The other thug looked at Manny, still immobilized on the ground with his hands up and a smile on his face,  
and back to the two Lucarios, who had focused on him, holding their weapons up.

The remaining thug gave a shriek and rushed off quickly, leaving the two Lucario friends to smile at each other. Chaz sheathed his sword and glanced down at Manny.

"What do we do with him?"

Liam looked confused. "I don't - know how to counter this curse... Whatever it is."

Chaz shook his head, having a million thoughts at once at how much he'd like to leave Manny laying somewhere or what he'd do to him.

"I'm all for letting the rascal off with a warning," came a light, cheerful voice.

Chaz and Liam simultaneously spun around, there before them was old Mr. Dragos, who had the distinction of making people respect him with possibly anything he said. Dragos' face was time worn, but still had cheer to it. His snow white, sleek hair rested atop the head of his wrinkled, yet charming face. His eyes were blazing sapphires, complete with a white chin strip of beard that reminded Chaz strangely of a sickle. Dragos stared down, deep in thought, apparently.

"Mr. Dragos!" the two Lucarios chorused, surprised.

Dragos looked up from examining Manny, every wrinkle on his face visible. "Hm? What is it?"

"A-Aren't you mad at us for being late?" interrogated Chaz timidly.

"Ah, but I see it as being early for tomorrow! Just as long as I know you're around!" said Dragos kindly, giving a smile. Chaz returned it without thought, having nothing but respect for him.

Dragos procured his own wand; a worn, brightly tan, douglas fir made wand. He said an incantation and tapped Manny, who sprung to life at once, looking extremely dazed.

"Not causing trouble are we, Manfred?" Dragos asked politely.

Manny stared around, leaning up and scooting backwards on his bottom to get a look at the scene. He may have been a no-  
good bully, but at least Manny respected his elders.

"No, sir. No."

Dragos smiled. "Your father is at home, very ill. You should be taking care of him instead of running the streets."

"Yes... Sir." Manny sneered. He then backed out of the alleyway, and with a last snort, he bolted.

Chaz and Liam both looked to Dragos for further instruction. Chaz had thought his admiration for Hildebrandt Dragos couldn't get any higher. It seemed as if he were always the one to solve problems people had, as he was very well-read, patient, wise,  
and old. There was an endless amount of knowledge that could be gained by simply speaking to him.

Dragos suddenly had something on his mind, for his face had contorted slightly. "Have you two seen Jameson?"

Chaz and Liam looked at each other, trying not to laugh. Jason, their friend and another fellow Lucario, had the trait of being the size of a man, gray in color, with sky blue eyes that you could get lost in. His black, medium length hair was frizzy and laid on his head like draping silk. He had indeed been too polite not to correct Dragos for mishearing him on his first day,  
becoming an inside joke that broke the seriousness often. Dragos once again didn't catch the meaning of the comedic quality of his "Jameson" belief as the two Lucarios looked back.

"I don't quite understand why you think his name ensues hilarity every time I speak it, but to each their own." Dragos stated.  
Liam stopped laughing at once, looking ashamed. Chaz merely shrugged, thinking Dragos had every right to be confused. In a short moment of silence, Dragos suddenly took a sigh.

"Well! I think we'd better get down to business then, shall we? If you'd come right this way..."

Dragos stalked off with Liam and Chaz at his heel. Chaz had begun to stare around, honestly hoping to see Jason running up to them, but there were no signs of him. Chaz instead took note of a pair of fencers, male and female, practicing near the fountain in the town square. Dragos had possibly noticed too, for he had spoken up as he walked along.

"By the stars, those Voronstov siblings are at it again." he muttered.

"Voronstov?" Liam asked, puzzled.

"Drake and Duprina Voronstov." Mr. Dragos said, amused. "Brother and sister. They have an - interesting belief that they're going to be famous heroes and go on quests and the like. Elementary things, if you ask me."

They had walked for just a few minutes until they reached an elegant building made of white brick. Dragos reached into his pocket and removed a small brass key from it, stepping up the small set of stairs with his Lucario companions close behind.  
He mumbled something to himself that sounded like "Curses!", and Chaz soon found out why.

Apparently, Dragos had forgotten to lock the door, which was open slightly. He walked slowly towards the door, pushing it open softly and inclining the two to follow him, but silently. There was a beauty of the large room, while dark and somewhat eerie,  
still looked old and wonderful. Rows and rows of books lined the shelves, and there were masterfully crafted desks spread out in front of a larger desk that sat at the edge of the room. Chaz thought he heard a noise coming from behind the shelves.

"Someone's in here," Dragos said in the faintest voice he could possibly muster. "And I think I know who."

Chaz and Liam walked with their lightest steps, along with Dragos, who started tiptoeing. Chaz wondered wildly whether a bandit had gotten into the hall. Or perhaps a homeless squatter - or even a mad axe murderer, waiting silently to attack. Chaz held his breath, listening with all of his might as he stared around. The noise emitting was some kind of soft scratching.

Dragos held up a hand and stopped between the two shelves, moments from peering around. "Leave 'em to me," he silently worded to Chaz and Liam. Dragos himself started easing around the corner, drawing his wand slowly.

"AHA!" Dragos screamed so suddenly that Chaz was sure his heart had stopped for a few seconds. Liam yelled out in shock.  
There was a hissing and a shriek of some kind as a brightly lit purple glow came from behind the shelves. "I've caught you now...!" Dragos said. Chaz looked to the end of the shelves, at the other side of the room. A black cat rushed out of the doors quickly.

"My lord! What an intrusive little fellow!" came Dragos' voice. "Fourth time I do believe. Perhaps he really likes it here."

Chaz let the air out of his chest, feeling as if a balloon had been popped inside of him. No danger, just some little kitty, he thought.

Liam was leaning against a shelf. "That cat's been here before?" he asked loudly, suddenly leaning off and walking back to where Dragos was. Chaz followed him, intrigued.

"My, my! He has!" Dragos said, exasperated. "Take a look at this; this is the same book that had been off the shelves in the cat's previous visits."

Dragos finished off with a tone that there were no suspicions at all from this whole ordeal. Chaz saw Dragos lift up the book from the ground, entitled 'Separated in Secrets', and as Dragos held it out, Chaz read a little due to the book being open to a page describing a door in a sacred complex, that would only open to the power of magical relics of the past. Chaz thought it odd that it happened to land on that particular page.

"Can I borrow that?" Chaz asked. Dragos handed it over without question.

Liam had come up behind him, and together they silently read an excerpt:

"The Jaspanium Complex is a long forgotten structure located approximately 5567 kilometers (or three miles) from the settlement of Lan Briar, shrouded in mystery and feared by certain individuals. Back in near-ancient times, the relics were stolen from the complex. They had all belonged to King Jaspanium, who had passed away, given to him for the afterlife, and were all one-of-a-kind, pieces of art. Today it is believed that they are all still out there, perhaps not in the best shape, but still possessing the same powers as if they were still new. It is stated in the archaic writing on the walls of the complex that those who return the 9 relics to their indicated spots shall-"

The rest of the page had been ripped out. Chaz sighed.

"Mr. Dragos," Liam said uneasily. "This is a very interesting read-"

"The cat was reading this." Chaz half shouted, coming to a realization. Dragos and Liam looked at him funnily.

Was the cat reading this book? Did the cat try to take the page out, only to rush off quickly? Chaz nervously wondered what the rest of the page had said.

"Now then, don't be so hasty and go blaming feline housepets, Chaz." said Dragos in an attempt to reassure him. "Perhaps it was a simple coincidence that the cat may have knocked this book off... er... Several times."

Chaz looked at Liam. "What do YOU think?"

"It definitely was freshly ripped... And has a little moisture around the edges of the page. I can see it." Liam said with a patient voice.

"Ah, but perhaps the book was ripped like that when it was shipped to me. You see, I haven't exactly read all of these. My life has withered before my eyes enough. As for the moisture issue, I might have accidentally spit on it; my mouth is rather wet right now!" rambled Dragos, smiling.

"Mr. Dragos, please." whined Chaz, wanting to wipe the smile off Dragos' face for the first time in his life. "I think that cat was trying to read this book!" he slammed it shut.

Dragos began to stroke his chin, running his fingers through his white sickle of a beard. "There seems to just be one simple hole in this story. Cats, mind you, don't read, do they?"

Liam nervously looked to the ceiling for a long time, while Dragos, still staring Chaz down, hadn't smiled again yet. He indicated for Chaz to return it to his hand, and when Chaz didn't, he calmly replied "Alas, I do suppose I can loan it out."

His heart beating excitedly, like it was a tale he wanted to finish, Chaz walked out from behind the shelves and took his usual seat near the front of the room as he heard Dragos speak again from somewhere behind him, randomly.

"Rather dark in here, isn't it, Liam?"

The entire room was illuminated seconds later. Chaz blinked a few times, examining the book's pages. He was trying to take it in so fast that he could hardly read properly, hearing the shuffling of four legs grow nearer and nearer as Liam and Dragos made themselves present in his view as he glanced up. Dragos looked right back into Chaz's eyes again.

"If it shall make one of my shining pupils sleep easy, shall we do a lesson on this, er..." he began, trying to find a word for the book.

"I'd like that," called Liam suddenly.

With a sigh, Chaz closed the book. He was about to stand up, but Dragos merely gestured him to remain seated as the old man raised a cyan colored, glowing hand. The book rose a little into the air and suddenly flew forward towards him at a quick speed. Giving a hearty smile, he caught the book in his withered hand, which immediately lost its aura. Liam began to applaud slowly as Dragos lowered it down to his side, clearing his throat.

"Dragos, when can you teach me to do stuff like that?"

"In time, Liam, in time..." Dragos replied, as if he had just done nothing more interesting than taking a drink of water.

Chaz, too, was impressed once more by Dragos' magic skills. He had had many a daydream about being Liam's counterpart,  
but Chaz knew where his strength lied: the sword that he had been destined to receive since he was very young. Chaz,  
indeed, was very good with it; he practiced daily and enjoyed the sound of the whistling steel cutting the air. His thoughts were brought back by Dragos' speaking once more. Liam, at that moment, took his seat next to Chaz.

"Now, if Jameson isn't about to come bursting in," started Dragos, looking at the door intently. Chaz softly giggled and looked to his immediate left where the empty chair sat.

Dragos waited, funnily looking around with his enlarged eyes like they were big, fat blueberries. He then inclined his head briefly, bringing it back up as if Jason were to appear in front of him. When, of course, Jason hadn't teleported into the room,  
he flipped through the book and politely asked "What page were you reading, dear Chaz?"

"156."

Shortly, they had begun their lesson. Even as Dragos droned on, Chaz had taken in every word of it, even though he could tell Dragos seemed to find it a hoax, but at the same time, interesting.

"...King Jaspanium had many, many friends in his lifetime. The few who had the privilege to be seated at his dinner table were all considered his greatest friends and allies. During the time of Jaspanium's death, those who remained, and the families of the passed, payed the biggest respects they could by donating one item to Jaspanium's resting place; an item that they knew the king would appreciate. These extremely rare relics are still studied today and are commonly believed to still exist out there..."

Chaz had many thoughts buzzing in his mind. Jaspanium sure sounded like he had many connections, and perhaps, his good attitude and kind demeanor may have taken a big part in it. He quickly resumed listening to Dragos.

"...The relics were as follows, in no particular order of importance: the Yaild Goblet, a truly legendary piece of art hailing from a wealthy woman from the city of Aranor; the goblet is said to bring drinkers good fortune. Platinum in color, set with many gems, and having an all around comfort as it was being held; the Dagger of the Artist, once owned by the legendary sculptor,  
Briff Nelios, who was on fantastic terms with King Jaspernium, who had it enchanted everlong as a gift to his friend. The dagger is made of pure gold that is said never to have tarnished, with a handle of deepest blue. The wielder feels the warmth in their very bones..."

Dragos paused for a moment, looking up to read the expressions of the two Lucarios. Chaz had been sitting there with his mouth open, he quickly realized, and as he shut it, Dragos gave another smile. Liam was whispering to himself, clearly amazed and completely enthralled. Dragos looked down before long, and coughed. He took a sigh and continued on.

"...Otto's Medallion, that has the ability to give strength and courage to its wearer. Otto, the greatest warrior who had ever lived, had worn this in his most famed battles, most notably his slaying of the terrible griffon, Phaethon. He had passed on before Jaspanium died, however, his wife at the time had given it to him with all due respect. The beautifully hand-crafted medallion is truly a master's work and features a beautiful amethyst set into the magically silver indention; the Bracelet of Slaughter, a terribly sinister piece that was made from the purest of obsidian, told in more tales of murder than possibly any other piece of jewelry. Though the owner had been committed to an asylum for slaughtering another human being, his grandmother had paid respects to the king by giving the bracelet away..."

A sudden noise had made all of them, including Dragos, give a start. The door had been shut closed loudly and Jason had walked up, calmly, to the front of the room. Chaz and Liam instantly shot wild questions as to his whereabouts.

"Where were you?"

"What were you doing?"

"Really, where WERE you?"

"Jason, are you listening to me?"

"Hello..." Jason said, somewhat bored. "...Dragos. And you guys, as well." he added, looking down at the two of them, giving a smile.

Mr. Dragos inclined his head as he had earlier, indicating that Jason should take his seat next to Chaz. "Nothing too much,  
Jameson. 'Tis a shame I couldn't find you, we have been discussing a little legend."

Jason sat down without so much as another smile; Chaz and Liam found it odd how Jason hadn't laughed at this little inside joke like usual.

"I shall go over what we have discussed thus far later to you, Jameson. As of right now, I must continue my lecture..." Dragos said seriously. Chaz leaned over to Jason to his left.

"You missed out on a few really fascinating things!"

"Oh, did I?" inquired Jason, revolving his head towards Chaz, a trace of sarcasm in his voice.

"Definitely." Liam answered, not catching it, turning to his left, looking past Chaz with a grin. "You've gotta lend an ear to Mr. Dragos-"

"Why don't we start with right now?" chortled Dragos in front of the trio. Chaz, Liam, and Jason went silent at once and looked at their teacher, who had the floor not too far in front of them. Dragos cleared his throat again, popped his lips a couple of times, and looked back down at the book.

"Let's see... Where was I... Ah!"

He found his place at once. "The next relic is simply called the Barnaby Ring, once owned by a powerful mage, Ike Barnaby. It is a small, orange colored ring that can conjure fire. Ironically, it was stolen from the tomb early on by a servant of a rival king and given to his tomb instead; the ring had been given to a temple made high in the mountains of Caelfall. The ones who ventured in to find this ring, I daresay... Never made it back out."

Chaz saw Liam have an uneasy look on his face, squinting slightly. The thought of the ones who had went into a tomb and never saw the light again made Chaz shiver. As Chaz glanced to his left, Jason sat there, completely uninterested, it seemed.  
Chaz frowned, wondering why Jason seemed to be hiding something. Dragos continued on as if he were just reading the text in the book.

"The Mask of Finesse is a delectable piece of golden jewelry that was in the possession of a princess named Neola Casta,  
who favored plays, before being handed down to Jaspanium's tomb, being that she found a mask that took her fancy even more so. It is indeed said that this is a relic that is in high demand, being that the wearer will feel faster and more agile than ever..."

They had continued on for what seemed like another half an hour. Chaz, along with the others, soaked into his mind the last relics, which included a small pendant named the "Pendant of Infinity" that had been used to seal away a demon, a gem itself called the "Turquoise Loraitoite", which was believed to have fallen from the sky and space itself, and, lastly but not least-ly, the silver statuette of a lynx, who had been deemed a cursed and dangerous relic to all who had owned it. As Dragos finished, he closed to book lightly to the outrage of Chaz.

"Wait, that's it? There's no more?!"

Liam and Jason both stared at him. Dragos shook his head.

"Absolutely not. You see, nine relics existed; approximately ten friends had dined personally with the king. The relics were all stolen completely from his grave, however. Ancient writing reveals that the visitors to the tomb had the option of seeking them out to be rewarded... or something along those lines! Seems like a bit of a tall tale to me."

"I've heard of this story before, sir." Jason muttered loudly, no emotion on his face. It was Chaz's turn to peer at him.

"Have you, then? Excellent. Wonderful." shrilled Dragos. "Now, let us continue on..."

Dragos seemed to enjoy being on the topic of the relics and the king as he gave a short speech, when soon after, Chaz raised a paw in the air.

"Sir!"

"Yes, what is it, Chaz?"

"Could we - perhaps - travel to the tomb?" he said, much too fast.

Dragos cocked his head to the side, a funny expression on his face. "What makes you ask that, my student?"

"If the legends are true, this could be the find of a lifetime, Mr. Dragos!" Liam added on.

"I, for one, am all for it." Jason said with a sneer on his face, eyebrows downward, that he covered up in under a second as he saw his friends looking at him.

"My students, are you quite sure? I understand that you are fully matured, however-" Dragos started, but Chaz interjected.

"Mr. Dragos, I think we'd love to make you proud. There's a fine chance that we could happily show you all you've taught us over the years, and this would be an excellent learning experience!"

Dragos stood there with an expression of greatest concern. Chaz could tell that he was thinking it over, staring down at his desk, pacing for a short time, mumbling. Finally, Dragos looked back at Chaz, swallowing.

"I will allow you to go. BUT!" Dragos ended, for Chaz had already started to get out of his chair. "You must promise me three things. Would you like to heed them?"

Chaz nodded, and so did Liam. Jason merely sat there, ears at the ready.

"...Firstly, and most importantly, if there's someone out there who is reeking of wrongdoing, you must not give in to them. I have already had many a student become an... evil-doer." Dragos whispered at the end, seeming as if those words hit him hard. "Secondly, I must ask of you to always be prepared. Take as many things as you think you'll need to survive. It is quite obvious, but it is my sworn responsibility to ensure that you understand..."

Jason crossed his arms, nodding slowly. Chaz, on the other hand, felt a boldly rising emotion in his chest; he wanted to be an adventurer like his Uncle Boel... and always has.

"The third, and final thing," stated Dragos, nearing his conclusion. "Is that you must always watch your back. Trust few... It is a terrible and greedy world. Filled with... some truly horrifying people."

Chaz heard Liam swallow hard next to him. Jason merely sat there, still crossing his arms. "Mr. Dragos, sir."

Dragos looked at Jason sincerely. "Yes?"

"I would like to ask if you would be joining us."

"Absolutely not," Dragos vowed seriously. "I must remain here. Much too old and feeble to be adventuring."

"Hm," Jason muttered. "That is okay with me, sir."

Chaz and Liam looked at each other.

"Jason," babbled Liam. "Are you... okay?"

"Of course I am. Why?"

Liam put on a thinking face for a moment. "You seem kind of different today. Is something wrong?" he asked as Chaz watched Dragos, who was also watching them.

"I'm okay - Liam." Jason assured him. "I'm just feeling a bit tired."

"I'll make sure you rest up later." said Liam kindly.

Chaz couldn't take his eyes off of Dragos, who seemed to be staring into Jason's soul. Jason had taken notice, as he had said, sounding accusatory, "Yes?"

"Jameson, you have blue eyes, don't you? My mother had ones quite like that..." said Dragos kind of lamely.

Chaz, who had thought Dragos staring had been for a more serious purpose, had began to laugh, along with the other two,  
although Jason's laugh was sounding forced. Maybe he just wasn't in a good mood today, Chaz assured himself.

Mr. Dragos stood at the doorway of his library-like building, giving a wide smile at the top of the steps. It was a breezy afternoon; the air was nice and warm, and the sun was shining brightly through the clouds. The three Lucarios were off to their first destination through Lan Briar, a town that they had known was not too far away. They had been instructed to retrieve a sort of key that would grant them access to Jaspanium's tomb.

"I say, you should keep this with you..." Dragos implied, handing the book to Chaz. He had suddenly conjured another book without warning, not explaining how or why.

"This, my boy, is a guide book," he said speedily. "It shall help you identify some of the more, er, prominent areas."

Chaz thanked Dragos for everything and after they had said their farewells; they were about to be on their way when Dragos stopped them for one last bit of advice.

"Lan Briar is a... ninety-nine percent ghost town," murmured Dragos, half nervous. "Nobody even travels through it any more... They say the bridge was taken out to it. Years ago, a plague struck the town and the sole survivor never contacted the disease... But he was said to be completely immune to it as he watched the entire town die off, eventually going insane and remaining in the town. This hulking person is a maniacal, beast of a man who has lost all sense of reason. You must get that key by any means necessary."

Dragos waved in farewell as he hobbled up the stairs, not noticing the worried look on Chaz's face. Liam seemed even more afraid, if anything.

"I hope we don't run into the crazy guy... He sounds scary!" he commented with a quiver as they walked into the town square of Elbery on their departure out of town.

"Don't worry." said Jason, sounding annoyed. "What's he going to do?"

They had continued on, eventually reaching the outskirts of the town, marching along the dirt road they had been instructed to follow down leading to the broken bridge of Lan Briar. The scenery was becoming more of that of a nature walk; the hills rolled far in the distance, and beyond them, the beautiful Mount Speros, which was undoubtedly the tallest mountain in the land. Chaz took a drink of water as he continued to amble down the road. Jason, too, took a drink of something. It was in a small bottle he procured out of nowhere, the liquid looking rather colorful.

"What're you drinking, Jase?" Chaz asked, interested.

"Oh, just some whiskey. Haven't drank any in a long time." answered Jason curtly, following Chaz at a brisk pace.

Liam was possibly thinking the same thing Chaz was by that moment. Has Jason ever drank alcohol around them, or, more importantly, at all?

Before long, they came to a fork in the road. Two paths were separated by a sign that pointed down either road. One sign read "Dalry", indicating the nicer, cleaner road. The other path was almost grown over by grass, and it even seemed that someone had tried to mark out "Lan Briar", leaving "an ria" remaining.

"That must be the way to the town, guys..." Chaz grunted, stating the obvious. Jason had already started walking down the road by that time.

"Hey, wait, Jason!" cried Liam, chasing after him. Chaz followed, but as soon as he started walking, he heard a soft rustling somewhere behind him.

"What the..."

Chaz stopped, and turned around for a few seconds. There wasn't a soul in sight. Liam's voice then came once more, calling out to him.

"Chaz! What's the matter?"

"Nothing! Just some little bunny rabbit, I guess!"

As they had traveled on, the bridge was looming into view. As promised, it had indeed been tore down almost completely. The small, narrow river that ran through the deep gorge below their feet rushed quickly with clean, sparkling water.

"That bridge is definitely broken," observed Liam. "Where do we go, now?"

He had looked around, noticing that Jason was again gone from their sight. The mountain still loomed in the distance, rather beautifully, making Chaz's heart thud. He was quite afraid of giant things, as they made him kind of dizzy.

"Jason!" called Liam, looking all around.

"Where is he?!" Chaz yelled, taking his eyes off the mountain.

When no answer came, Liam had ushered Chaz to follow him to the left, down the bank and into a small thicket of trees, where they indeed found Jason, standing near the thick trunk of a tree that had been knocked down, providing some kind of a crude way of crossing.

"Found this," said Jason after a moment. "We can use it to cross this little river, eh?"

Chaz looked at Liam, and back to Jason, meeting his sky-blue eyes. "Found it quick, didn't you?"

"You guys go first, alright?" said Jason imperatively, somewhat ignoring Chaz's question. "I'll come after you."

He backed away. Liam stood there, a face of bewilderment. Chaz said nothing, looking awkwardly away from him.

"I'm telling you. Go first..." he said with a grin that didn't really fit the mood. "Trust your friend, Chaz. Liam."

"What is wrong with you today!?" Chaz snarled without meaning to. Jason had been strange all day long and he was sick of it. Something was up with him.

"I've been upset about something!" said Jason quickly, though his face didn't show sincerity in it.

"Oh yeah? Well you have a funny way of showing it!"

"Come on, we're almost there!" Jason suddenly shouted, hopping up and running across the broken, thick tree flawlessly. He stared back at the other two, waiting.

"Well, are you coming, or am I going to have to face off the 'Lan Briar loony' by myself?!"

Chaz stepped up on the tree trunk with determination, not looking down for fear of falling into the deep ravine. He felt Liam's presence behind him and as he started lightly moving. But there had come a shock to Chaz, for at that moment, he had glanced down as a cracking noise was heard. Chaz, being taken completely by surprise, whipped around quickly and thought he saw a figure in the thick foliage in the distance as he stumbled slightly, very aghast.

"L-Liam!" Chaz howled, as the other had caught his paw and held on tightly. Now they had both stumbled, Chaz slipping over the edge and catching himself, dangling over, hanging on for dear life.

"Help me up!" yelled Chaz, looking into Liam's eyes, looming above him. "Jason, help him, please!"

Jason, however, from what Chaz could see, wasn't budging at all. He still carried the worried look as he stood tall on the safe grass, but for some odd reason was doing little to nothing in assisting his best friends. What was going on?

Chaz looked back at Liam, face alone begging to be rescued. Liam swooped downward trying to assist Chaz, who's paws were becoming sore and tired; Liam had bent over just a little too far, tumbling down to where he had caught on to Chaz's left leg, dangerously hanging, likely to drop any moment.

"JASON! JASON, HELP US!"

No reply. Chaz stared back to where Jason had been moments before. He had come closer, onto the branch once more, extending his arm as slowly as possible.

"Jason! Come on!" groaned Chaz worriedly.

Jason gripped Chaz's paw tightly, pulling upward. Liam gave a scared whimper.

"Liam, hold on... He's trying... We're going to be okay, I promise..." he gasped, a few seconds later. Chaz felt Liam's grip sliding.

"Please don't let go... Please don't let go!"

Chaz repeated this over and over, becoming more and more terrified as Liam had held on with the last of his arm strength.

"I can't - hold on - Chaz!"

Liam suddenly gave an almighty wail as his paws slid from Chaz's leg, plummeting.

"NOO!" bellowed Chaz, horrified. He didn't care if it would be his last day alive, at all; Chaz had willingly let himself go of Jason's paw, hearing a splash somewhere beneath him as he fell for what seemed like only a brief second before splashing into the small river, his ears hearing nothing but the absolute silence and pressure of the water...


	2. Chapter 2: Jason's Secret

...Chaz sputtered as his sword somewhat weighed him down, looking around as he emerged to the surface again. "Liam! LIAM!"

There wasn't a soul. Scared to death that Liam may have drowned, he had ducked his head under water, several times, looking for him. Seeing absolutely nothing but the dark depths of the water, Chaz had come up to find that something was floating in the water not too far ahead... A blue, wonderfully patterned cloak. It was Liam's, all right. Chaz swam with the medium current as he scooped it in his paws, feeling the hot rush of tears forming in his eyes as he swam diagonally towards the bank, eventually working his way to a laying position on the soft grass, sword weighting his back, soaking wet and laying his head on Liam's cloak, grief-stricken.

He had started to sob, hard. Chaz's chest heaved as he had formed mental images of the three of them together, Liam fading away and leaving only Jason and Chaz. He couldn't have died... Chaz even thought he could hear Liam's voice again...

"Chaz..." mumbled that same voice, somewhere from behind him.

Chaz kept his face buried in Liam's cloak, thinking his ears were having hallucinations as he mentally kicked himself in guilt.

"...Ch-Chaz..." it came, louder and more distinguished than before.

It wasn't an imagination at all! Chaz lifted his head up, eyes puffy and still full of tears. Before he knew it, he had turned around fast and Liam had been floating there, holding on to the bank, coughing.

"Liam!" Chaz had shouted loudly, pulling him up onto the bank and embracing him, not letting go for a very long time, somehow still not being cheered up by his presence, crying even harder, if possible.

"I thought you were dead," bawled Chaz. "I was distraught!"

"I'm glad you're okay, too, Chaz-"

"Jason's probably worried sick!" realized Chaz at once, trying to put his mind off of thinking that his friend had succumbed. "Come on! We gotta get back up there to him!"

Liam had soon collected his cloak off the ground, fastening it around his neck and putting on his hat, not before wringing it the best he could.

"I forgot the drying spell that Mr. Dragos taught me..." admitted Liam, ashamed. Chaz smiled and made sure his own sword was on tightly.

"It's okay. We'll get dry soon."

In what seemed like no time, they had traveled up a grassy slope and Chaz, trying to avoid looking at the giant mountain, scouted ahead to regain their route. Jason wasn't present as they had made it back to where they think he had been standing, shocking the two of them.

"Where'd he go?" asked Liam loudly, moving along with Chaz by his side.

"That's the second time he's disappeared on us..." Chaz replied perceptibly.

As they had found the dirt road, Liam, who had been looking at the path, stopped.

"What is it?" Chaz asked, looking down. There were a set of pawprints imbedded into the dirt that continued down the road... Two pairs.

"I see Jason's footprints where he walked off... But... Aren't those the same ones? There? And there?"

Liam began pointing out the same foot marks on either side of the pathway. The second pair veered off the road and stopped at the grass, where it had definitely looked freshly trodden on. Chaz scoffed.

"Looks like someone was following him or something!"

Liam shook his head. "I'm still confused. How could he follow himself? Those look exactly identical!"

Chaz threw his paws up, lowering his head, not wishing to speak. He ambled down the road where he could spot the glum looking, derelict settlement of Lan Briar in the distance. He looked down as he walked, following the footprints. Liam had started following him.

They soon had come upon their first building on the outskirts of town; a fenced in, large manor that looked as if it had been ransacked from the outside in. Liam started to approach the abandoned home's gate.

"Hey!" Chaz called; Liam stopped dead in his tracks. "That place looks like bad mojo!"

"It's locked, anyway, Chaz." muttered Liam, still somewhat nicely. A dead tree was an eye-catcher on the grounds, but there seemed to be something hanging from it...

"Don't tell me that's what I think it is!" gasped Liam.

It was, indeed, a skeletal corpse, hanging limply from the big, old tree. Chaz peered at it with shock and amazement, holding on to the iron bars.

"...Maybe the only thing left for this person to do - was to kill themselves." said Chaz gloomily. Liam hung his head, continuing on without another look at the old tree. Further on down the road, Chaz took note of what appeared to be magnificently large gravestones, all in a row, from the other side of the gate. The graves had been on the manor's far right grounds, almost half grown over with tall grass. Chaz could just barely make out "Bogdan", several times.

The entrance to the town was slightly spooky. Liam gave out a small intake of breath, staring at the scene, along with Chaz, who had crossed his arms, getting goosebumps. This town was as eerie as they had said; some of the buildings were boarded up. Some buildings, old as they were, had caved in. An ugly, dirty doll lay on the ground, perhaps a toy of a young child who had gotten the disease. Vegetation had begun to take over as far as the eye could see. Not a single sound emitted from anywhere except for the breaths of his companion.

"This is Lan Briar all right," Liam confirmed quietly. "And it's creepy."

Chaz had nervously began to wonder what kind of monstrous man lurked throughout this chillingly empty town. He had also started to wonder just why the man had the key at all.

"Liam," said Chaz at last. "What are we going to do now?"

"Dragos told us that... The man owned the key. I guess that means that," he swallowed. "We have to go looking for trouble, and seek him."

Chaz nodded, boldly. There was no turning back.

Journeying through the town was unsettling, even with Liam by his side. Chaz had sworn he had heard a few strange sounds in the distance as they walked, and found far creepier things than just the doll alone. There appeared to be an old pub that had been splattered with rust colored streaks that looked exactly like old bloodstains, and even further along, a house had writing all over it. There appeared to be many different writing styles, as if this had been a spot for travelers to leave messages:

"THE END"

"i KillEd PAtriCK i HAD to"

"I'm the last one of my group alive! Stay away from this town! -Elena"

"God save us"

As Chaz and Liam read through the messages incredulously, each writing seeming more sinister or strange than the next, the oddest sound could be heard to the west of Chaz's ears, as if it were a commotion going on.

"Liam!" whispered Chaz, getting his attention. "What is that sound?!"

Liam rolled his eyes around at his surroundings, studying with his ears, more or less. Chaz had suddenly set off, towards the source of the noise, Liam quickly following him, protesting.

"Wait! What if that's the scary guy?!"

"I'm just checking-"

"But Chaz!"

They hadn't done a very good job of keeping their voices down. Chaz reached an area that seemed to be near the town hall; it was the biggest and most worn-out of all the buildings surrounding it, made out of stone. He stopped and looked all around, wildly.

"It was coming from over here, Liam!"

"Be careful, please... And keep it down..." Liam replied, suddenly sounding terror-stricken. "...He could be anywhere around here-"

There was a scuffling coming from just inside of the town hall; the muffled scraping sounded quite intense from behind the doors. Chaz and Liam both had been jolted with some kind of fear. Waiting quietly, not moving an inch, Chaz had been the first to speak.

"I'm checking it out." he said, knowing what he had uttered was possibly the stupidest thing he had ever spoken aloud.

"What?!" hissed Liam. "Don't go in there, Chaz..."

Chaz had ignored him, slowly taking tiny steps towards the town hall's entrance. Paws on his sword's hilt, he had unsheathed it with a satisfying noise. Holding it in front of him bravely, he had taken his first step onto the stairs leading to the battered entrance when, to his, and Liam's, surprise, Jason came bursting out, hair a complete disarray, looking tussled.

"Chaz?! Liam?!" he said, genuinely surprised, taking note of his two friends. "I missed you guys so much! I have something to tell you-"

Chaz felt Liam approach from behind, taking a sigh.

"Why did you leave us down there?" he had said.

"What?" Jason said, stopping in the middle of his sentence.

"Why did you run off without us?"

"I went to Dragos and he said you guys went to Lan Briar. He asked me a few funny questions... Like why I came back? What was that about?"

"Now hold on just a second," Chaz interrupted. "You were with us the whole time! Do you have memory issues right now? When you did hardly anything to save us?!"

He felt his anger rising. Jason was looking extremely hurt, and confused.

"Chaz, what are you-"

"Jason, please," Liam said, very politely. "How could you have gone back to Dragos if you were with us? The entire time, up until we fell off the tree trunk and into the river..."

"You guys fell into the river?!" Jason asked, shocked. "Are you okay?"

"Don't go acting like you didn't BARELY try and help us get back to safety! Why'd you run off without us!?" yelled Chaz, fuming.

"Listen to me Chaz-" began Jason, but his face had gone into an extremely shocked one abruptly. Chaz had felt his anger slowly decrease as he watched Jason's face.

"What?"

Jason held up a paw finger, pointing behind them. Chaz and Liam both revolved as slowly as possible, fearing the worst. Liam yelled in horror.

Standing seven feet tall, a shaggy, bearded, dirty, intimidating man stood, growling animalisticly, holding a crudely made axe that looked as scary as he did, covered in so much grime and blood that it seemed to be rusted red. The Lan Briar madman!

Chaz had kept his sword drawn, fortunately, and as the weapon carrying psycho charged for him, he had ducked out of the way of a tremendously powerful swing that could have easily been his last second alive, catching the sword against the axe with a mighty swish.

"CHAZ!" Jason yelled.

"Run, Chaz! He's too powerful!" shrieked Liam, ungodly afraid. He had tried to cast a spell but it only bounced off of the man.

Chaz complied with all due haste; rolling across the dirty street, he had gotten up and started dashing away with all of the agility he had, sheathing his sword, hoping it wouldn't be a burden.

"Split up guys! Split up!" Chaz called behind him loudly. The madman was still hot on his tail like a cat chasing a mouse. He had chased him all the way into another residential area, though all of these houses were terribly demolished; that is, until Chaz made a beeline towards a house that looked... recently inhabited?

Fleeing still, Chaz had sprinted right into the house to a yell of rage from behind him.

"NOOO!"

The madman didn't want him in the house, it appeared. Chaz slammed the door, sticking a sturdy bit of wood in front of it. He had then piled all he could in front of the door. Peering around as the door had started being beaten on, he saw that a small shrine had been made with a large, sloppily written few words scratched into it:

"BELONGS Too TRAVIS"

Was Travis the madman's name? Chaz had instantly assumed so, as all of the items on the small shelf seemed personal, and and even bigger sign, the name was scratched into almost everything. In his search, Chaz had found an open drawer with an incredibly patterned silver key inside as he heard the door finally being cleaved in. Was this the key to Jaspanium's tomb?

"MY KEEEY! MY KEEY!" the insane, growling man boomed, chopping in the door.

Chaz stared behind him as the ugly, bearded face of Travis appeared in the axe-hole. Hoping sincerely that there was a window that he could hop out of, Chaz had, without luck, looked around the room and discovered that there wasn't one.

Quickly taking sight of a set of stairs leading to the upper floor, he rushed up them two at a time, stumbling at the top. The oddities continued; there was a scarecrow in the corner of the room, and etched in the wall next to it said "DAD". Everything in the entire room was covered in a thick layer of dust.

The other sights were quite strange as well, but as Chaz had heard the door being kicked off of its hinges, he had been blessed to find that an open window sat, right above the bed. Hopping up on to the filthy mattress as he heard the stairs being stomped on, louder and louder, Chaz flung himself out of the window and onto the roof of another house. Staring back, the terrifying form of Travis had begun to throw some kind of tantrum in the room he had hopped out of. Taking a sigh, Chaz hopped to another roof and slid himself down to the ground.

He had to find his friends, immediately. Chaz, hoping that the psychopath wouldn't find him again for a little bit, moved himself along through the desolate streets as fast as he could, eventually needed to catch his breath once more, and slowed down.

Looking over towards where he had thought had been near the town square, he had saw Jason, looking around, strangely. He hadn't ran away from the madman? Chaz had started to move towards him.

"Jason!" he called, praying that Travis was still quite far away.

Jason looked over, a baffled look etching his face out.

"He might be coming any time, now!" shouted Chaz.

"Who?!" Jason shot back. He had suddenly taken another drink of the small bottle he had with him.

"Jason, is this really any time to be drinking?! That stuff impairs you! The madman's on his way!"

Chaz had still been quite sore that he had ditched him and Liam. Why on earth would Jason be standing out there so calmly, swilling his whiskey like nothing was happening?

"I really - The madman?" Jason blurted. Chaz stared on at him in disbelief.

"Yes, come on! Where did Liam run to?!"

As if Chaz's question had been challenging, Jason screwed his face up for a moment, straightening it out, saying, "Liam? Did he run off?!"

"I saw you running off with him, Jason! How did you forget?!" bellowed Chaz, looking around and making sure that Travis wasn't on the way towards them. "Earlier you even told me that you didn't remember leaving us at the river-"

"I remember, but come on! We've gotta find... Liam." said Jason, not sounding too worried at all. "And watch out for the crazy guy..."

Chaz had silently obeyed, rushing off with him, calling out Liam's name as they sped by more deserted buildings that were probably much more thriving in the past. They had kept this up for a while until they had saw Travis himself, off in the distance, hunting them with all the strength he could. Fortunately, however, he hadn't seen them, and, from what Chaz could gamble, hadn't heard them, either.

"Other way!" croaked Chaz, fearing once again for Liam's life. He and Jason had retraced their steps in the opposite direction, looking down every alleyway for him.

"I'm - about - out - of breath - now..." huffed Chaz much later. He wobbled slightly forward and accidentally tripped over a discarded pile of firewood, laying out in the street, knocking his head against the ground hardly. Shaking the dazed confusion out of his head, he stared up and thought he saw Jason running across a street in the distance through his double-vision.

"Jas-" Chaz shouted, but a paw tapped him on his shoulder.

"Chaz, I'm right here."

Suddenly feeling as if he had been knocked silly by his fall, Chaz rubbed his head, which gave a bit of a throb.

"I thought... I saw you over there, heh heh." said Chaz quietly, trying to slick his hair back.

Jason offered him a paw to stand up to his feet, and he felt as if he could take a breather right now, again wishing in vain that their hunter was on the other side of town. Jason looked doubtful as he pulled Chaz upward.

"Where do you think Liam ran off to?"

Chaz leaned against a brick wall of an indescribable building, still lightly panting. He hadn't answered.

"We need to get that stupid key - maybe we can just, you know, kill the madman, get the key, and head to the complex. Liam will be safe with nobody here to hurt him." Jason stated, rather randomly. This time, Chaz had looked at him spitefully.

"I'm not leaving Liam here. I don't care if it was full of roses."

Jason looked down. Chaz had reached into his pouch, digging around until he pulled the key out, yet again looking for Travis in case they needed to make a run for it.

"I've got the key, anyway." said Chaz, offhandedly, presenting it.

Strangely, Jason's eyes seemed to shine as he lay them on the key. It was an expression of greed, and Chaz couldn't mistake it for anything else.

"But, I think - I'll hold on to it, Jason."

Chaz stuffed the key back into his pouch, feeling as if he was starting to somewhat distrust Jason. He had been acting weird, having memory problems, and leaving them, not even checking on his friends at all when they, (or more importantly, in Chaz's eyes, Liam), had almost drowned? The key staring sealed the deal. Something just wasn't right here. Not at all.

Scaring him half to death, as if Chaz really was going loopy, a black cat had dropped down from the rooftop. Even more shockingly, Chaz had made the connection that this had indeed been the same cat that had tried to read Dragos's book. It had to be; Chaz got a closer look at the cat, this time. It was wearing a dark red collar with a yellow colored gem stuck into it, and its lime-green eyes looked strangely contorted, staring up at Jason.

"Hold on a sec, Chaz."

Jason reared his footpaw back and kicked the cat as far as possible. Astonished, Chaz watched as the defenseless cat skidded slightly as it hit the ground, looked at Jason once more with scathing eyes, and sat.

"Didn't I tell you to stay in Elbery, you stupid, stupid cat!" raged Jason, shouting meaningless insults at the feline.

"Jason, what are you doing?!" exclaimed Chaz, horrorstruck. It wasn't like him to abuse animals of any shape or size, or generally get this angry at all. The cat merely sat there, staring at Jason as if it were trying to tell him something without words, though looking ready to dash away at any given moment.

"Get... out of here, already! I don't have any food for you!"

The cat merely stood up and started to walk down the street to the direct left. Watching it depart for a while, Chaz suddenly let out a gasp as Travis the psycho lunged himself around a corner, looking directly at the cat, who had promptly charged all the way to the right at ludicrous speed. Looking to his right quickly where the cat had gone, Chaz noticed that the exit to the town was directly down the road. Not too far, he thought fast.

"Jason!" Chaz screamed. He had gotten the message as they had run in the direction of the cat. "We have to find Liam, right now! Please, we have to save him!"

"Yeah, we will!" Jason huffed, running fast with him, keeping away from Travis. The two Lucarios were fast runners, and Travis, it seemed, had incredible speed himself as he almost kept up with them. They had been almost to the exit of the town; and Chaz had almost given up hope when he heard the voice he most wanted to hear.

"Chaz! Jason!"

Chaz stopped in his tracks, forgetting that Travis had been in hot pursuit, but not forgetting to duck out of the way of a mighty swing, ushering Liam to move it, who did just that as he rushed out, aiming his wand at Travis's face as the man had rushed towards him.

An orange stream of light shot from Liam's wand and made Travis stop on the spot, wincing and grimacing. Chaz could see Travis's face turning red and his eyes watering as he closed them, yelling out in pain, swinging the axe crazily and all over without thinking.

"Liam, what did you do?!"

"The Capsicum Curse." Liam replied grimly. "Basically, he has eyes full of pepper juice for a few minutes until we can escape..."

"Well let's escape, then!" Jason shouted as Travis flung his makeshift axe towards a boarded up window, loudly destroying it. Chaz and Liam started to run, quickly out of the town. Going through the old gates were like a breath of fresh air as they ran all the way until they reached a windmill that stood lonely and quite certainly abandoned, creaking with every movement.

Sitting on a rock, Chaz hung his head, breathing heavily.

"I feel bad for the guy, a little bit. He must be pretty lonely there..." he uttered, looking off into the stretch of river that had continued on down here.

"Someone in Elbery told me once that he never stepped even one foot outside of Lan Briar." Liam recalled.

"That's great, can we get a move on? Let's do it as quick as possible, eh?" said Jason at once. Chaz looked to Jason's thigh and just now noticed that the small, translucent bottle he carried around was empty.

"They don't have a bar at the complex, Jason." joked Chaz. Liam chuckled as well, but Jason merely stood there looking somewhat agitated.

"We'd best not look back, either, right? It's all over for that creepy place. Come on." commanded Jason, though not too rudely.

Chaz hoisted himself off of the rock he had been sitting on. Getting Liam's attention, he had asked, "Where's the guide book? I need to see where that complex is..."

Jason had set off at a fast walk ahead, leaving Chaz and Liam in the dust.

"Hey, wait up!" Liam called after him as he had pulled the book out and gave it to Chaz. He studied the book's cover for a moment before looking up at Jason, who had, in the distance, been holding his head down and appeared to be talking with his arms held out.

"What's he doing?" questioned Chaz and Jason seemed to put something away up ahead.

They had caught up with him soon enough. Jason seemed to be increasingly flustered as they had completed their first mile, going as far as giving them a speech as they walked on, past the wondrous scenery.

"...When we get there, it'll all be fine and dandy. I know that you guys are probably as eager as I am, but honestly! Just give it some time, and stop bugging me so much!"

Chaz suddenly jumped as he felt something caress his legs. Looking down, the black cat had followed them, to the fury of Jason.

"Why are you still following - us?!"

The cat, again, stared. This time, however, it was that of terror, as if he were only there because of Jason solely, and seemed to not care at all for Liam and Chaz.

"Jason, is that cat yours?" inquired Liam with a smile.

"NO!" Jason boomed unkindly. Liam frowned, hurt by that, and Jason had noticed, for he had said, in a much more quiet manner, "No, Liam. I'm sorry."

Jason had sighed, seemingly letting the cat tag along with them. The day had grown over half-old so far; the sun beat down on all of them as they trooped as a party for the last half an hour. Chaz drank a large amount of water from one of his flasks, handing one to Liam, and offering one to Jason, who refused quickly.

"I'm not thirsty, Chaz."

Chaz swallowed and let the saliva in his mouth reform. He thought it odd how Jason continued to want more whiskey, as he had revealed about twenty minutes back. And why was the cat following him? Had Jason really befriended such a mangy looking runt? Then Chaz remembered the kicking, feeling instantly sorry for it again.

The three of them, including the cat, had reached a lush plain that the book had described. Flat as could be, with the book itself explaining where to go, the three Lucarios set off across the plain, catching sight of a wagon that was parked next to a single tree, oxen attached to it. Interested, Chaz and his followers approached it. The wagon bounced slightly, shocking Chaz, and a tan-skinned woman, covered in bangles and necklaces, wearing giant earrings, with a long, silky pink dress hopped out of the wagon with a mace in hand.

"Stop! Not one more step!" she shouted. The party of Lucarios, and even the cat, halted. Chaz took in her appearance; silver, curly hair, double braided, pulled back, giving her pockmarked, brown face a distinct look. She appeared to be some kind of gypsy. Chaz stared around at her possessions on the outside; a campfire, a few drying racks, and a large animal skull hung against the wagon.

"Tryin' to rob me, are you? Just like those damned rogues..."

"Please - we're not here to rob you," Liam assured her politely. "We were just kind of curious."

"Curious?!" she spat, lowering her weapon. "Curiousity can lead to trouble - and I've got enough trouble as it is!"

"What's wrong?" asked Chaz, genuinely starting to feel bad that they had disturbed her.

"My... My daughter... And my son... ran off!"

Liam gawked at her. She had suddenly gotten an angry face on.

"There's evil afoot! I can feel it in my soul! Which one of you's funny?"

She began to point her mace at each of them, in turn. The woman stopped on the cat the longest.

"You!" she shot at Chaz. "What's this cat doing with you?"

"It followed us for no reason-"

"No, no no, no!" she hollered, stamping her foot. "This cat's got a reason!"

"Ma'am-" Liam started.

"Call me Bethany, you!" she hissed at Liam, coldly. "My mama didn't name me 'Ma'am'!"

As Liam apologized, Bethany lowered her mace again, looking at Jason this time. "And could YOU kindly stop staring me down?"

"Sorry to interrupt, but we have to go!" Jason said, looking into the distance, hoping to see the complex of Jaspanium.

"Now, Jason, we should stay and listen... When did your kids run off, Bethany?" asked Chaz, trying to be polite to her.

"It was yesterday, actually!" cried Bethany. "She wanted to go and find that silly temple with her brother! I wanted to get moving soon, but I can't just leave my children here!"

Bethany had formed a tear. Jason looked as if this were an opportune time to start moving out, but not before explaining.

"We'll go and look for them! We're heading to that temple now!"

The gypsy had tossed her mace into her wagon, sobbing, going down to her knees.

"I just - want - to know where they went! They're too young to be all alone... I forbid them to go, but they sneaked away!"

"Why did they want to find the temple so much?" Chaz interrogated.

"I don't know. They thought they'd find treasure and help me buy fancy things, and a new home, perhaps... They're so thoughtful."

Liam sighed. "What made you come here?"

"Fortunes said to be found. Not in that old complex," she hastily stated. "I'm referring to opportunities favorable here compared to where I came from."

Bethany looked downward and sniffled. "But my children are out there, all alone. Who knows what kind of villains lurk in these parts? And that Briar place, I heard, was the most terrifying tale of all..."

"We - just came from there." said Chaz, broodingly. "By the way, what do your children go by?"

"Miriam and Barak."

The gypsy had, somehow, begun crying hard. "Puh-please find them!"

"Don't cry, Bethany... We will find them. And we'll bring them back to you." Liam said defiantly, patting her on the back and lifting her back to standing.

"Oh, thank you... I'll be here..." she wailed. She retreated into her wagon, sobbing. Liam looked around.

"Jason!?"

He had ditched them, again! And, if Chaz wasn't imagining it, were those hoofbeats in the distance?

"Come on! It could be a highwayman - be careful, Bethany, arm yourself until we return!" he added to the door of the wagon, which was covered up.

Liam and Chaz rushed off into the trees on the far left of the plains, in a matter of minutes, at the book's instruction. How did Jason already know where to go?

The two of them had traveled together into the darker part of the woods where they had dashed through a series of low hanging branches and ivy. The complex had to be somewhere around here. They had kept on pushing forward, Chaz eventually having to chop through plantlife that became an obstacle.

"Where is it, Liam?" Chaz asked,

"Should be about right here..." he pointed with his paw towards a small grouping of trees. Chaz thought he heard someone rushing after them, which made Liam rush off as Chaz followed, quickly. Chaz gaped with his mouth open as he stopped in front of the amazing temple as it came into view; the stonework was masterful, and looked quite ancient, but simultaneously strong. The entrance was shrouded in shadow, with a long set of stairs that led up to it. There, the two of them saw Jason on the steps, looking quite snide for some reason with the cat near him as he picked it up, but a tremendous surprise had completely thrown them off. This had topped all of the surprises yet for Chaz, even when he had played cat and mouse with the sinister Travis.

A second Jason had dashed up behind them, looking furious. His hair was somewhat blasted back, and he looked bruised.

"You... Son.. of a bitch!" the Jason behind Chaz and Liam called to his clone on the steps, who began to laugh wickedly. 


	3. Chapter 3: A Dangerous New Enemy

Chaz could not believe what he was seeing. Liam kept looking back and forth between the two, trying to spot the differences, eyebrows raised high into his forehead. The Jason on the steps kept his cheesy grin.

"Chaz. Who's that behind you? What trash-talk!"

Jason's clone, behind Chaz and Liam, gave a furious grunt.

"Who are YOU?!" the other Jason boomed loudly.

"I'm Jason, obviously! You're just some impostor, trying to steal my friends away from me!" the one from the steps said calmly, yet still raising his voice at the same time so he could get the message across. He began taking one step at a time, slowly going down the stone steps towards them. "And also..." he added. "...There's certainly something very funny about him... Oh! That's right, he doesn't have my vest!"

The Jason on the steps clarified his point by stretching out the black vest he wore; Liam and Chaz had known that he had always kept it open, wearing it almost every day. Chaz had suddenly remembered that the Jason that had came bustling out of the town hall had indeed not had a vest on. The second Jason stepped forward, scurrying Liam to the side.

"You stole it!" he growled viciously, eyes flaring.

"I stole nothing. You need to work harder on your disguises, my friend!" the other said, relaxed, as he reached the bottom of the steps, setting the cat down. He gave it a shove away with his foot. "Chaz - Liam... Look close at me. Can't you tell that he's a phony?! I've been going to lessons with you and Dragos for years and you don't truly know who's real?"

"Guys!" the Jason in front of Chaz and Liam, now, whispered nervously, sounding irritated nonetheless. "He's the fake! He stole my blood and turned into me!"

"Listen to this tall tale!" the Jason who had reached the bottom of the steps commented, stepping forward. Chaz and Liam had to hold the Jason who stood in front of them back from unleashing onto him. "If I were you, I'd just go back the way you came, and I won't hurt you!"

Jason's double had begun to kick out at his smiling duplicate, Chaz and Liam still restraining him.

"Jason! Stop! We aren't letting anyone hurt anyone until we find out what's going on!" huffed Liam, working hard in holding the large Jason back.

"...get my hands on him..." Jason mumbled, settling down, stopping.

"What's with that cat, Jason?" Chaz said, looking at the black cat, who had begun to circle the other Jason who had been looking right at them.

"He - won't stop following me!"

The cat had sat down again, staring up at him with an unsettling look. The Jason in front of Chaz and Liam had taken a sigh.

"Whatever you're trying to do, it isn't going to work on them!" he declared. "And what's that - the bottle you stole my blood in?!"

He had indicated the small, empty bottle hanging around the twin's waist.

"Was filled with whiskey," the other Jason lightly stated. "As I've told Chaz and Liam."

"Ha! Whiskey! Listen to this, you guys, he's duped you better than a con-man! That bottle was some kind of sleazy potion he used to change into me!"

"This idiot thinks he has you assured, doesn't he, guys?" replied the other, closing his eyes and shaking his head with the slightest smirk.

"You - you bastard...!"

The Jason in front of Liam had lunged himself forward, Chaz missing his grip on him. Chaz had stepped back with a look of shock, Liam mimicking him, perhaps both of them thinking the same thing: maybe the Jason who had been real should fight his own personal battles.

One Jason had become locked into a grapple with the other, each of them trying to overpower the other; eventually, it seemed, the Jason who had came down the stairs previously had stomped onto his twin's foot. An instant later, he had drawn back his arm and gave a punch. Two punches. Three punches, all to the face, stumbling the other. As Liam called out senseless protests, the two Jasons continued their battle. The vest-less Jason had been tackled suddenly, but somehow managed to reverse the other, pinning him down and striking his clone in the same spot, the difference being that this Jason had brutally struck the other more times, ragefully.

"You - like - this?!" he had shouted as he gave his opponent a thrashing. The Jason on the ground had held up a paw and stopped him, pulling a very dirty move; he had bitten the other, scooting himself back as the vest-less Jason had drew his paw back with a grimace, yelling out in pain. The Jason who donned the vest had rushed towards the temple stairs, Chaz noticing something odd about him at that moment. Had his hair just gotten longer, twisting into an orange, straight, fine length? And why did it seem like his shape had grown out of proportion, thinning somewhat around the legs, straightening up as he grew slightly taller? A white glow had covered him as he rushed up, Chaz now realizing that this was in fact the fake, as the real Jason gave chase; the impostor reaching the top and dashing into the complex.

Chaz had almost followed when the cat, too, seemed to be forming into a twisted heap as it stretched out on the ground, growing bigger and more thick until eventually it had stunningly turned into a dwarfish man.

Underdeveloped and troublemaking as he looked, his craggy, cleanly shaved face had been formed into a scared expression as he stared at the other two Lucarios in front of him. His clothes were that of seemingly neglect, reminding Chaz of Manny Gross, the biggest bully in Elbery.

"Ge'back, you two, or I'll haf'ta teach 'ya lesson!" he demanded, pulling out a green-tipped knife. Chaz didn't like the look of the green tip. It could only be poison, sickeningly dripping off the edge.

"What's going on?!" Liam shouted at him. The little man chuckled, flicking his chestnut, coiffured hair to the side.

"I'll give 'ya to the count of fr'ee. A'right?" he squawked. Chaz looked back up at the complex, where he could see nothing. Jason had to be fighting the true face of his impostor inside.

"One," he started. Liam drew his wand, and Chaz his sword.

"Ooh! Look'y likes we've got a fight on 'er hands a'ready! I love that!" the dwarfish man said, swishing his knife at the two of him, swiftly dodging a swing of Chaz's sword, rolling on the ground towards Liam, who had hopped back.

"Do some kind of magic trick like you did in Lan Briar!" Chaz shouted to Liam, chasing the short man all around, who had dodged many of his attacks due to his size, promptly swinging his dangerous knife right at Chaz again.

Liam shot a magic bolt at him before long; the dwarf incredibly cartwheeling out of the way.

"Wha' 'wuz that? An attack?" he called jovially and sarcastically, running towards Chaz again, knife raised. Chaz and he had become locked by the weapon, the knife becoming more and more of a danger as the dwarf tried to punch Chaz in his gut, succeeding, slashing the dagger at him only a hair too late. Hopping back to his feet, the dwarf had engaged the sword-wielding Lucario in a circling staredown. Liam, meanwhile, was unsuccessfully trying his hand at a large spell he could hardly remember, sending sparks the little man's way, trying to remember a spell that could be useful towards this man.

"So, 'yer name's Chaz, is it?! What horrible taste 'yer parents had!" he taunted as he faked a lunge at Chaz, who backed away in fear of getting slashed by the poison knife.

"What's your name - 'worthless henchman'?" Chaz angrily replied, pointing his sword right at the man, who stopped.

"Me name's nun'yer damn business!"

He ducked around, sliding through Chaz's legs; Chaz had been too slow for him this time...

"...Chaz!" Liam shouted, horrified as the small man had triumphed in slicing Chaz terribly on the arm in no time.

Chaz had held his arm in utmost pain, the wound soon sizzling and oozing.

"Heh heh heh heh!" the little man gleefully cackled. "I ain't a guy 'ter play nice! Fancy that!"

He let out another laugh as Chaz kneel to the ground, sticking his sword deep into the earth, feeling somewhat woozy in no time. "God!" Chaz wailed as the burning hot injury had increased in pain with every passing few seconds. Liam rushed over to him.

"Chaz... Please... Hold on..." he trembled.

The dwarfish man wasn't finished. "I've got plenty 'o time 'ter kill, lad," he chortled. "Take 'yer time in dyin'. That there's pure Poison Lavender sap, mixed wit' a little snake venom. 'Me own concoction... On'y a good potion maker or a real skilled wiz' can cure that. And 'yer don' look like eif'er of 'em."

"No!" Liam screamed towards the short man. "How could you do this?!"

Chaz had began to feverishly lay onto the ground, closing his eyes, breathing very hard.

"Chaz... You're going to live... I promise you..." the scared muttering of Liam had been somewhat distant. There was ringing in Chaz's head.

"And 'yer next, lad. 'Yer stupid magicians a'ways handlin' life with magic, eh? Handle this!"

Chaz tried to raise himself up, but he couldn't. His entire body had begun to burn. He had to save Liam. He had to save Jason... This couldn't be the end... Chaz could hear Liam trying to get away from the man. A sound could be heard as the little man shrieked wildly. A few pairs of legs had stomped on the grass around him, also hearing quite a lovely sound as his vision began to blur even more so. Liam was yelling.

Someone else had yelled something afterward. He knew that voice... His brain had even gone foggy... But his vision had started to focus itself, and his brain had become more and more unclogged. He blinked in the sunlight, breathing heavily as the burning ebbed away ever so slightly until there had been none at all. Chaz saw a pair of blue, wonderfully vivid eyes above him.

"Muh... Mr. Dragos?!" Chaz shouted, bringing his chin strip and wrinkled face into view.

Dragos nodded slightly, smiling. "I was just in time Chaz, and a good thing it was that I decided to teleport myself here to see if you had arrived safely. You are safe now... I have cast an anti-poison spell on you. I must thoroughly teach Liam this some day."

He offered Chaz a hand, who took it, shaking, standing up to his feet. Liam was standing there, looking very relieved.

"Dragos... That little man..." Chaz began, but Dragos held a hand up.

"...He won't be a problem for you. Though I wish I hadn't have done it quite like this. He is a very bright fellow. Used to know him back in his prime..."

He turned in the direction that Chaz had looked in before he had been shown; the small man had been knocked out cold, laying on the grass.

"You know him, Mr. Dragos?" Chaz asked.

"He had formerly been my student. Years and years ago... Before you were even born, I believe. His name, I must say, is Oscar Adasi Lundi."

"What?!" Liam exclaimed softly. "He was taught by you?"

"He was the black cat that had been coming in!" revealed Chaz. Dragos's eyes widened.

"Is that so? What a brilliant fellow he is - I mistook him for a genuine cat. But it just goes to show, even the best of us are wrong at times," Dragos said formally, as if he had implanted a life lessons guide in his brain.

The three of them looked at the form of the Oscar Lundi. Liam had glanced up to the entrance to the complex as Chaz had voiced what he had been about to say. "Come on, we have to save Jason!"

Chaz rushing to the stairs, dashing up them quickly. He had reached the top soon enough, coming to a halt as a long hall met his eye. Beyond the hall, from this distance, seemed to just be another large room at the end. Not waiting on Dragos or Liam to follow suit, he had run along the passage, where he heard a voice issuing as he grew nearer.

"...I probably should have taken that Chaz... He has the key on him, doesn't he-" a soured, man's shouts came.

"Shove it, you creep! Chaz and Liam are going to stop you!" Jason's reply came like a sword's stab. Chaz peered inside of the magnificently decorated room, at least, back in the days of old this could be described as "decorated". The symbols on the wall had been meaningful in the days of old, however, they were barely comprehensible today. Chaz had continued along the steadily darkening room as the two of them had come into view. Chaz heard Dragos and Liam rushing along the passageway behind him. There seemed to be a stone doorway that was strongly shut near where Jason and his enemy were. Could the key be used there?

Jason, himself, had been constricted to a large statue by some strange, black, smoky thread. The man had been pointing his powerful-looking, dark sword he had somehow gotten after he had transformed into his human self. Hearing Chaz come up behind him, the man revolved on the spot, knowing exactly what to say as if he had eyes on the back of his head.

"Ah! Speak of the devil, I tell you." the man said, illuminating his face as he stepped forward, into the torchlight. He had looked professionally intimidating; he had a dark circle under his left, mean-looking brown eye. The other eye had been obscured by an eyepatch, a scar running behind it. His vividly orange hair had been well groomed back, tied tight into a ponytail, matching his stubble almost perfectly. Wearing black armor that was apparently the same color as his heart, the very same armor that he had somehow concealed in his "Jason" disguise, a white symbol of an organization that reeked of bad news to Chaz stood out.

Liam and Dragos had appeared, the latter wheezing, out of breath. The evil man snickered.

"Still alive, are you, Dragos? I would've thought you'd have withered away like a vegetable..." he said, hair dangling slightly from behind his shoulder, swaying out.

"Now, now, there. I will have you know that oldness doesn't point to weakness..." Dragos calmly stated aloud.

"Who are you, anyway?" a perplexed Liam asked to the man. "Are you here to hunt the treasures or something?"

"I..." the black knight said, holding his head up high. "...am Sir Knave. I am very pleased to meet you as my true self, and not playing pretend as this furbag." he finished, referring to Jason. Chaz narrowed his eyes, taking a step forward.

"What'd you call him?"

Knave didn't look pleased at all, Chaz thought. The knight more or less looked annoyed, as if they all were flies he was going to play with before he swatted them.

"Why'd you pretend to be him, anyway?!" exclaimed Liam, putting his foot down.

"Where to start, where to start..." Knave questioned to himself. "...I had been informed on these relics by a source - that I won't tell you about..." he stuck in, for he had read Chaz's mind when he was about to ask who.

"...Turning into Jason was an easy feat - I happen to be a masterful potion brewer. Only someone with a knack for this kind of thing can do it right. The ones who have messed up have ended up melting themselves away. Dangerous, it is..."

Chaz had a nasty mental image by that point of himself melting away after drinking a potion of that caliper.

"...Jason was already off. For I had knew he was a student of yours, Dragos, I had kidnapped him, confined him to a cellar of my private knowledge, and..." Knave put on a face of relish, making Jason look sick. "...Forced the information I needed out of him."

Liam gasped. "What did you do to him?!"

"That, I shall keep private." said Knave, defiantly.

The trio of heroes had looked at Jason, who now looked ill, not wishing to even tell them what had gone underway.

"I did, however, inform Oscar, my servant, to remain in Elbery, which he failed to even accomplish, resulting in his punishment..."

Chaz recalled the cat-kicking once again. And the shouting.

"...Yeah, after I knocked his head! Ran away with his tail between his legs!" Jason bellowed. Knave looked displeased, spun around, and clutched Jason's throat. Chaz, Liam and Dragos had simultaneously raised their respective weapons at that moment, all pointing at him. Sir Knave had noticed, for he had released a cursing Jason, turning around again. The three lowered their weapons.

"It is a shame that my servant couldn't join us, however. Did a job on him, haven't you?" Knave asked, trying to swerve around his actions.

"Mad dogs must be put down." said Dragos. "If I remember correctly, half of the time you are abusing Oscar senseless."

"But you forgot, old man, that he serves me well! And no matter how much I want to peel his skin and roast it, he's still loyal to me, and I can't have you disrespecting me like that." Knave hissed his last words dangerously.

"Old man I might be, wiser I must be."

Chaz respect for Dragos rose even more, smiling. He was keeping calm in the face of this malicious villain. Knave had suddenly looked stern.

"But now, we must speak of my business at the current moment."

"Speak it, already!" sassed Chaz, interjecting him. Sir Knave had gripped his hands together.

"I'll ask politely, the first time, my dear, dear Chaz," he said, narrowing his eyes as his lips formed another smile that Chaz sincerely wanted to beat off of him. "Hand the key over."

"Not even a 'please', Sir Knave?" Chaz mouthed, narrowing his eyes right back in steadily growing anger. Liam tried to get a grip on things.

"Be careful, Chaz... He might hurt you..."

Sir Knave nodded towards Liam, as if he had been right. "Quite a smart one, you are. Still, I must say, you are a filthy, wasteful animal, being used by Dragos. Are you rewarded for all the time spent in the company of this feeble, withered-up fool?"

Liam looked aghast, gritting his teeth. "You're a cold hearted wretch! How dare you talk about-"

Dragos had then made himself prominent. "Insult me, I shall let go. Insult my students, however, and a problem will arise."

Sir Knave had gained a smile in a very short time; a rude, cocky smile that told Chaz that he was about to get serious.

"Or what, I might ask?"

Dragos raised his wand again, calmly. "I shall have to make you rue the day you underestimated me. Time and time again."

"Hildebrandt Dragos, the famous teacher. The famous spellcaster. The famous former swordsman, archer... OLD MAN." Sir Knave had put a lot of emphasis on his last phrase.

"I will ask you to evacuate the area." answered Dragos boldly.

"...I shall do no such thing until the key is in my hands and I am through the door." Knave had gotten in Dragos's face. "So - make me!"

You're about to be handled, Chaz thought happily. This would be over in a flash... Dragos stepped back with a sigh, raising his wand...

...Chaz had found that was only half right. It was indeed, over in a flash, ending in a shocked yell of terror from the three Lucarios as their teacher flew backward; his spell had ricocheted off of Knave's shield he had brought upward in half of a second, rebounding it right back into its caster, who crashed to the floor without moving.

"Dragos!" Liam, Jason, and Chaz shouted in chorus. Liam rushed over to him, Chaz tagging along, inhaling deeply, becoming more and more furious at this evil knight. Looking up from Dragos's unconscious body and back to Knave, he had charged forward, as he was still holding his deceased uncle's sword.

"Chaz! Be careful! That sword is infused with magic!" Jason yelled, still constricted.

Knave had raised his sword lazily, striking it against Chaz's as they began to duel. The knight's swordsmanship was truly deadly, Chaz thought as they had struck swords more than once, stabbing the air back and forth, Chaz eventually hitting his enemy's shield hard. Having no shield yet, Chaz hopped back and tried his best to confuse Sir Knave as he dodged two hearty swings with much finesse.

"Hand over that key, and I shall let you walk out still alive," grunted Knave, engaged completely in combat with Chaz.

"No!" Chaz yelled, refusing to allow that to happen. He had avoided yet another swing, catching it with his own sword.

"Ah, look who's arrived! They shall see to it that I am assisted in - getting into the door!" said Sir Knave, happily, hardly breaking a sweat. Chaz had looked back to the entrance to the room as seven or more completely armored black knights from head to toe, all bearing the same insignia on their chest, had approached; Liam was failing to hit any of them with the spells he cast due to their armor. Each was carrying a different weapon; one even held a crossbow.

Chaz couldn't imagine how much worse it could get; he had then devised a plan that would trick Sir Knave into releasing Jason from his bonds. Trying to make him cut the magical cords, Chaz had succeeded shortly after, to the displeasure of his enemy, who had swiped downward in one thrust, severing them as he tried to end Chaz. Jason ran out, Sir Knave looking at him, and then to Chaz, finally deciding that Chaz was bigger priority as Jason went to assist Liam, who had been cowering away from some of the foolhardy black knights.

Knave and Chaz clashed swords again. In the distance, he could see that Jason had succeeded in disarming and dispatching one of the warriors with a combination of unarmed attacks, impressively, stealing the battleaxe that he had been wielding, holding it out to the ones that had started to come for him.

Chaz had increased the grip on his sword, holding it against Knave's with a burning passion of hatred towards this man. Sir Knave began to curl his lip, shoving his iron foot into Chaz's midsection, thrusting him backward and swinging again, only to clash once more as they had a battle of strength. Knave's sword gave off a dazzling blue color as Chaz held on with all his might, also somehow concentrating on the battle that had unfolded between Knave's soldiers and his friends.

Liam had jumped his highest and quickly lifted a visor on the only dark knight that was coming for him, as most of the rest had begun to corner Jason, and unmistakably cast something on him. Liam's victim had wobbled and looked as if he were about to fall asleep on his feet, neck and shoulders drooping, Liam shoving into the warrior as he fell with a loud clang. He backed away shyly, tucking his wand away. Jason had started to take on the larger group by himself, hopping over Dragos's knocked out form as he dodged one of the archer's arrows.

Chaz felt as if his arms would fall off as he kept holding off Sir Knave, backing up and beginning to feel overpowered by Knave as he began to fancily sway his sword into Chaz's. This had been his first true duel with an adversary, and he hadn't messed up yet...

...Sir Knave had been terribly good at this. Too good, Chaz hopelessly thought as he pressed on, seeing the other battle in his peripheral vision as it too, raged on.

Liam had, soon, rushed upward and tapped Chaz's sword a few times; it became embedded with a flaming augment. Knave leaped back, scared.

"It won't last long, Chaz!" Liam called as an arrow came flying from behind him, striking his hat off of his head and pinning it to the opposite wall. The archer had then been caught from behind by an axe swing from Jason, knocking him to all fours as Jason kicked him over onto his back before delivering a final blow.

"So?! What's this?!" Knave shouted, as Liam had retrieved his hat quickly, rushing back to the battle with Knave's henchmen.

Chaz could tell Knave was afraid as he swiped the fiery sword towards the black knight, small flames raging outward. He pushed him all the way back, slashing the flaming weapon at Knave's midsection, which he had been too slow to block, backing away more as his fear of the fire had impaired his defense skills. Sir Knave had began to clash swords with Chaz several times yet again, but as the fire had reached the front of his face he had dashed away once more.

"Scared, Knave?!" Chaz shouted. From what he could see from behind him, Jason had already incapacitated and slain several of Knave's lackeys, with Liam's victim of the sleeping spell still sleeping soundly on the floor. Knave backed away, towards the exit.

"Where are YOU going?!" Jason shouted at him, holding up his newly acquired battleaxe.

Knave held his magic sword up, somehow transforming it into some kind of sharp, scary looking sword-whip as he lashed it at Chaz's ankles, who had not been far away at that point, tripping him up, the fall making his sword fly out of his reach as Knave had began to strangle him, the metal pieces wrapping around his throat, though not cutting in to it.

"Liam - cah... catch Knave's cloak on fire!" Chaz coughed, the other remaining knights dueling Jason as much as he could see.

Knave had been completely scared of out his wits from this statement. Chaz smiled triumphantly as he was released. Sir Knave's biggest phobia was most definitely fire. In seconds, Liam had sent out a small fireball that had chased Knave out of the complex before going out a little ways down the hall. Sir Knave, however, had kept running, drawing something from his side and holding his arms out, talking loudly to seemingly himself once more as he had done in the Jason disguise.

The two black knights remaining looked at each other, not sure what to do.

"Come on!" Chaz coaxed, spreading his stance and picking up his sword from the ground.

Jason had started to come at them again from behind, as Chaz had rushed in to the front. The two knights hurried away after their commander; Jason laughing in victory, and lowered the battleaxe, starting to speak.

"Oh, man, I am so on-edge! I haven't had a good fight like that in my life!"

"I'm glad that we're all together now, guys." Chaz admitted.

"We're a team-" Liam started, smiling.

"That's right. And nothing's going to change that... not some silly bad guy in my skin, or his reject army." finished Jason, holding the axe over his shoulder.

"Did you get your vest back?" Chaz asked out of the blue, staring at the vest.

"I did! That smelly villain may have dirtied it up, though..."

Chaz sheathed his sword, looking around at all of the bodies on the floor, catching Dragos, remembering that he was out cold. Walking over to Dragos, stepping on and over one of the defeated black knights in the process, Chaz leaned over his teacher with a feeling of guilt that he had been the one to want to come here in the first place.

"...Are you quite all right, my students? Nice fight, by the way."

Jason and Liam had approached Dragos with dumbstruck faces, though not as prominent as Chaz's, who had lost his feelings of sympathy.

"Dragos!" said Chaz in a tone as if he were scolding a toddler. "Were you laying there on purpose?"

"Things didn't get too out of hand, I hope?" chuckled Dragos, standing back up to his feet and then ruffling Chaz's hair. Chaz slicked his hair back down.

"But - I thought - you were knocked out, sir!" stammered Liam.

"I wanted to see what you could do without me. Though I saw very little from you and Jason, I must say that your skills are definitely making me proud that I had taken you under my wing."

"But, what about me, fighting Sir Knave?"

Chaz felt very alienated after he had done a great job dealing with a skilled warrior who was over one fourth his size, with no audience to rely upon. Nobody to tell him how greatly he held off the leader of all the enemies Liam and Jason were dealing with. The worst one of them he had to take care of, and nobody saw the battle.

Dragos looked at Chaz. "You as well. I am terribly sorry. I didn't even get to see one bit of action between you and Knave. I daresay you dueled that cad into submission, though!"

"I saw it a bit of it." Liam assured him as put his arm around Chaz, who instantly felt warmer. "You did a great job and I think that guy will think twice about round two."

"I was busy taking care of the others, for the most part, but your swordwork was fantastic, Chaz." said Jason kindly. Chaz smiled and hung his head.

"Meanwhile, that key is quite possibly needed," Dragos urged, striding towards the sealed door. "Perhaps it goes deeper into the complex."

Chaz lifted his head up, sticking his hand into the pouch he carried, once again fumbling around for the key as he did in Lan Briar to show to Knave, who he had thought was the real Jason. He drew it out with a breath, handing it to Dragos, who began to approach the door.

"This is it, my students... Stand back, now, Liam," he called behind him, as Liam had been approaching with him. Liam stepped back.

Dragos inserted the key into the door, which had started to glow in a blinding light, making the four of them shield their eyes. From the little vision that Chaz had, he could see that the door had practically eaten the key, sucking it inside, strangely. The glowing had stopped and the complex had started to rumble. Chaz put away his sword, feeling his eyes themselves tremble.

"Woah!" cried Liam, stumbling ever so lightly as the stone door had started to rise. A very dark passage had been inside; Dragos issued a shining a beam of pure light from his wand that traveled in a ray down the hall as the group ventured in. There had been many cobwebs hanging limply, Chaz himself walking into one of them and angrily wiping it off.

"This is just the neatest place," Jason declared quietly. "Those ancient people must have been outstanding in architecture."

"You have a right mind in thinking so," Dragos said, still shining his ray of light down the ever-continuing passage as the group traveled. "King Jaspanium was indeed a king that deserved a structure such as this. The ones he ruled over simply adored him for his kindness, fairness, and wit. It was quite rare to see such a kind king in his days-"

"Look!" Liam exclaimed, pointing inside. Dragos's wandlight had shone upon a golden tomb. Worn as it was, there had been writing directly above it; writing that was in a language that Chaz couldn't understand. Jason and Liam were undoubtedly as confused as he was.

"What does it say?" asked Chaz aloud to himself, hoping for an answer.

"Lost treasures found, rewarded you shall be," Dragos read, squinting through his spectacles, moving the wandlight along the wall. "Treasures of the present shall become the past in the future. Seek the treasures you may, the Eye of Prehodor shall help."

"Eye of what?" questioned Jason. Chaz had been thinking the exact same.

"This Eye of Prehodor must be an item to help the relics be found," Dragos tried to explain. A picture on the temple wall above the tomb of Jaspanium showed an eye-shaped, turquoise colored object with an eye inside of it. "This could be it." he said as he shined his light on the drawing.

"Strange." said Liam. "Looks a bit strange from here."

Chaz had come nearer, staring deeper at the eye picture. He raised his paw towards the drawing, trying to feel it. The four of them had been surprised for only the thousandth time today as Chaz's paw went right through it; he had clasped a small object that was cold to the touch and felt like smooth, crystallized stone. Pulling his arm back out, he had stepped away in reverse.

"There's something in there!"

Dragos's mouth, too, had been slowly opening. It soon turned into a bright and cheerful laugh as he finished what Chaz had started, pulling the object out.

"What intelligent minds!" he proclaimed. "This, you three, must be the Eye of Prehodor!"

Jason, Liam, and Chaz had gathered around Dragos's hand. A similar looking object that was quite expertly drawn on the wall matched the real thing, though the drawing had been bigger. Made of pure, sparkling jade, a small hole had been present on the back, and on the front an engraved eye was blankly staring for all eternity. Dragos lifted up the eye, staring into the hole in the back.

"Alas, this thing doesn't appear to be working correctly."

Dragos stared at the light beam on his wand though the stone, directly, winking his other eye. "Not one glimmer of light."

"Maybe it was - enchanted only see the relics." Chaz said, wisely. "It might appear dark everywhere else." Dragos thought about this for a moment.

"How incredibly curious." he murmured. Staring around the room, Chaz had been taking it all in as if he were reading a storybook. The place, indeed, was stunningly decorated for a resting place. Dragos had put an arm around Chaz, leading him out as Jason and Liam followed.

"Where are we going?"

"Elbery, Chaz. There are matters that need to be addressed to-"

Chaz had then remembered the gypsy woman, Bethany, who had been upset about her children's disappearances.

"Mr. Dragos, wait," Chaz pulled away. He had, for a few minutes, told the story of Bethany and how he had ensured her that her children would return safe and sound.

"...We have to find them, Dragos." concluded Liam for Chaz, giving a pleading gaze towards their teacher. Jason put his hands on his hips.

"I'm going with you guys. We have to help her out."

"Of course you are!" cried Liam.

"Why would we not take you?" added Chaz, slicking his hair down again.

Dragos had remained silent in all of this time, looking between them as they spoke. Chaz had re-assured him once again.

"I deeply thank you for saving me, sir," Chaz said politely, crossing his arms. "But I really think this is where the real adventure begins."

Chaz could see that Dragos had formed straight face. With a sigh, the Lucario's teacher handed him the jade eye.

"Use it wisely."

Dragos had spoken again before Chaz could mutter a "thank-you".

"I mustn't hold your paws the entire way, you three. Remember that I will be safely in Elbery, no matter where you may be. No matter what stars you are under, I shall be under them as well. And I will always - ALWAYS, be on your side."

With that, Dragos strode off, a sort of sparkle in his eye, holding up his arms as he teleported away in a flash of yellow. 


	4. Chapter 4: Captured!

Chaz, Liam, and Jason had exited the complex, chatting idly about the whereabouts of Bethany the gypsy's children, Miriam and Barak. The trio had not known much about them; Jason even less informed. The only thing that Chaz and Liam had been personally informed of were the names and that the kids had wandered off and hopefully should have been right at the complex. However, they were absolutely nowhere to be found. The lush, green outside of the temple had been barren of human life after their battle with Sir Knave and his knights, Chaz angrily expressing his disdain that they escaped.

"Cowards!" he grunted savagely, studying the eye that Dragos gave him, looking through it once more. Jason nodded, and Liam merely said nothing as they trooped onward, away from the complex.

"They were no big deal at all," Jason replied, a swelling in his voice, full of pride that he had taken almost all of Knave's men down single-handedly. "Bunch of scrubs!"

"Sir Knave was no joke, though." Liam said, peering at Chaz. "He looked mean..."

"He was a good swordsman." said Chaz, very blandly. "But thanks for that fire augment. He's scared of fire; I could tell."

"You're welcome, Chaz."

They had walked on for a while without speaking again. Chaz had been feeling tired once more.

"Y'know," Jason interjected after a while of the absolute silence except for the sound of their feetpaws crunching against the soil. "Why didn't Dragos just teleport you guys there?"

"Maybe he wanted to let us get a little experience... Remember, he said he wouldn't hold our paws the whole way." explained Liam perceptibly. "Besides! I had a lot of fun traveling... Even if we did get into a few spots of trouble."

Chaz glumly thought of them falling from the tree trunk in the peace of his mind, trying to keep himself from becoming upset at reliving that moment. He had also thought about the crazed Travis, still left in Lan Briar all alone, Oscar Lundi's poison dagger, and the black knights swarming Liam relentlessly as he, Chaz, fended off their leader.

Jason had been talking, and Chaz had been thinking too much to pay much attention.

"...found a wild horse on the side of the road. Unreal, right?"

"Those must've been the hoofbeats we were hearing, Chaz." said Liam, sounding relieved. Chaz looked at him and tuned his brain in completely.

"Y-Yeah. I thought we were getting chased by some crook." he had told Jason, who then looked kind of lighthearted, smiling.

"What've you got; a rusty old sword and some pocket money? Nah, I don't even think a highwayman would even look at you wrong..." Jason humored. "...Then again, it seems like all of those swindeling jerks want everything from the clothes off your back."

Liam gripped his cloak tightly, with a grin, making Chaz giggle. Chaz put the Eye of Prehodor in his bag.

"My sword's actually pretty expensive, Jason. My uncle was famous with this thing." They had kept walking along, expecting to reach the grassland in a matter of minutes.

"Really?" asked Jason, truly amazed. "I didn't mean to call it 'rusty', either. It actually looks well cared for."

"Chaz polishes that sword every night, I think." Liam added, holding his wand up, examining it. Chaz believed that he had been checking his own weapon of choice for smudges.

At last, they had returned into the grassland area, Chaz scouting the land, catching sight of the wagon once again that belonged to Bethany.

"Where should we check, you two?" Chaz asked, still scouring the land with his eyes, catching sight of the forest beyond; it was much different than the woods they had exited. It had been thicker and much more plant life was thriving.

"I doubt they would've ran up the mountain," Liam said, pointing. Chaz felt a lurch as he looked at the massive land-form without meaning to. He turned his head away.

"Why would they venture anywhere else than what they had planned?" questioned Jason to his friends.

"Good question, let's ask them that when we find 'em." Chaz said shortly, setting off towards the forest. Liam tried calling him back.

"Chaz! Where are you going?"

Chaz turned around, holding out his arms. "Are we going to check around, or not?"

The other two looked at each other before setting off with Chaz, soon reaching the very start of the forest, where strange sounds of various creatures emitted from the depths. Chaz could hear Liam swallowing the saliva in his throat, nervously.

"We're together. I promise that we'll be OK! Nothing's going to separate us this time!" cried Chaz, pulling on their paws, prompting them to follow him. It had started to get only slightly darker as the sun became slightly obscured by the thick, overhead trees. He had let go of the two of them, stopping completely, speaking again.

"Which way do we go, though? How long does this forest go on?"

Liam had suddenly reached into his own bag, pulling out the guide. He flipped through it, leaning against a tree, eventually stopping on a page.

"Stols Forest. Kind of big, but not impossible to trek."

He showed it to Chaz and Jason, who both studied it closely. The Stols Forest had been directly near Ripogh Plains, which they had just come from, leading to the foothills that surrounded the colossal Mount Speros. Chaz looked up and nodded; Liam shut the book carefully and tucked it away.

Chaz took a drink of his steadily emptying flask. Liam, this time, had been the one to continue on, his companions right on his tail. Over time, the scenery had been, quite possibly, the most interesting since they had begun the journey itself; incredible flowers of every color imaginable, small and large, rested against the mossy bases of the beautiful, old trees, who seemed to whisper with the slight breeze; fungi of bright, eye-catching hues seemed to populate many stumps, old logs, and certain areas, and other plantlife had been very unique. One plant even seemed to be moving...

"...Watch out for that, Chaz. I think I've read about those things before." Jason warned, giving the plant wide berth. The plant had been dancing around slightly as if it were to attack with its thick, green vines.

It had suddenly latched on to Chaz, who had been too close; he had yelled in shock, trying to draw his sword, Liam pulling out his wand, but it had strangely started to suck on his wound, Chaz giving a face of somewhat relief.

"Liam - wait. I think... This plant is trying to heal me?"

A strange ooze had been dribbling out onto the area of his cut that he hadn't known he had, and, before he knew it, there had been no wound at all.

"That's a Healing Yellowcress! I was getting it confused with its imitator, the dangerous Silky Thyme!" shouted Jason, smiling.

"I think we should collect some of its healing sap."

Chaz had pulled out a vial that he had wisely taken with him from Dragos's study. Liam had approached the plant with his wand raised.

"I'm trying to remember that extraction spell Dragos might've taught me... One sec."

"I've got it, Liam." Chaz laughed, hearing Liam say that about almost every spell he had forgotten.

Squeezing the sap out, satisfying as it was, had indeed been a messy job. The plant had not found any wounds to heal, staying relatively motionless, and as Chaz fit the last of it he could in the small bottle, he corked it quickly, stuffing it away.

The group had traveled on, sightseeing some more, feeling as if the forest were a magical place. They had seen countless little animals so far, including a brown, sniffling rodent that appeared to be some kind of a giant mouse. There had been instances where there had been more exotic plants, as well. Jason had avoided a close call with a snapping plant, and Liam had fun enjoying a plant that glowed brightly when touched in the right spot; the three of them had plucked the leaves of a Nodding Coneflower, which made the leaves zoom away as if they had been alive as they were picked.

"Did you see that?"

"Bet mine went faster, Chaz."

They had been enjoying themselves very much, when it had happened in a fraction of a second; Liam had been lifted completely upside down, dangling from a metal chain that had come completely out of nowhere as a trap.

"Liam!" Chaz called, looking upward. Jason had been too shocked to speak.

"Cut me down!" pleaded Liam, squirming.

"I can't! It's metal!"

Footfall had reached their ears. It was slow and heavy, growing louder by the second.

"Hide, guys!" hissed Liam, letting his arms dangle. Chaz and Jason both refused, standing right where they were.

"You'll be caught, too! Please!" Liam begged them. They had no choice.

Chaz and Jason had quickly run behind a very large shrub, peering out of it at Liam, who seemed scared out of his wits. Chaz wanted to rescue him again by now, but what came into his eyesight had been awful.

Four ugly, large, green orcs had stepped below Liam, who looked down and let his mouth fall open.

"Wa's this?" one of the grunting orcs asked, stumped. He had long, greasy black hair that went down to the middle of his arms.

"We put him with the others?" another one, who was completely bald and had giant, red eyes, replied; Liam's wand fell out of his side, and tapped the same orc on the head, who hardly noticed. He picked it up and frowned at it, showing his teeth. Chaz gritted his own teeth, wanting to fight them off.

"Magic?! Sargulg!" he shouted at another of his kind, who had been wearing what looked to be a burlap sack as a shirt.

"Whut?!" Sargulg shouted right back, though the two had been standing right next to each other. Liam said nothing, shaking.

Sargulg's red-eyed partner had shoved the wand into his hand. "Take it."

"Right, Vorgak." Sargulg mumbled, walking away, deeper into the forest, with it.

Chaz could feel Jason next to him sigh in disbelief. Vorgak looked at the other two.

"Take him to master Xig."

The two orcs followed Vorgak's orders without a word, releasing Liam from the chain, who had whimpered. They immediately took him away, further into the forest.

"Dammit!" Chaz whispered, upset.

Vorgak looked right to where Chaz had been peering out. He had heard them and he knew it, staring around with a face full of confusion and anger.

"Who 'dat?! Show your face!"

Chaz and Jason, of course, had not been stupid enough to give away their position, hiding behind the thick leaves. Eventually, they thought that they heard Vorgak walk away as well.

"Come on, Chaz. Quietly, though..." whispered Jason, peering out very cautiously. Giving a sign that the coast was clear, Jason hurriedly began to rush forward, he and Chaz taking cover when they deemed necessary, peeking out carefully.

"Where do you think they took him?"

Jason looked at Chaz, who had asked the question, with sorrow. "I don't know, Chaz. But if they harm him, or lock him up..."

He broke off, the possibilities obviously being too severe for him to continue thinking about. The two of them traversed along without saying much of anything. They had lost sight of the orc, Vorgak, who seemed to be unbelievably fast, staring out into the distant forest that had possibly led to some kind of orc-stronghold; Chaz remembered that Vorgak had given instructions to another of his kind to take Liam to "master Xig". Though Chaz had certainly never seen Xig before, the thought of who was under control of those ugly creatures surely had to be scary enough.

Chaz had once again found himself lost in his head when Jason held out his arm to stop him.

"...Ow!" grunted Chaz, backing up and massaging his midsection. "What is it?"

But he hadn't received an answer; Chaz had heard it himself. Slow, light footsteps could be heard through the thick trees to their left. Jason held up his axe. "Chaz, did you hear that?"

It had to be an orc, thought Chaz at once, nodding in reply to Jason. They had caught them as well... but he wasn't going down without a fight. Chaz pulled his own weapon out, holding it towards the trees. The footstep sounds died completely.

"Are you going to kill me, dear?" a strange, nasally voice said. The speaker had stepped through the trees, Jason gasping at her appearance; her disfigured face had been one thing, but her gray, outrageously long hair had been another. Her nails had been like claws on a wild animal; though painted red, they had a sharp tip on each of the ends. Her clothing consisted of male's breeches, olive-green, and a white, female shirt. Her brown, leather boots went almost up to her knees. Chaz, himself, mouth hanging open, had stared at her necklace. It was beautiful; made of pearls and ending in a cyan stone that Chaz had not a clue as to what it was, the woman lifted it up slightly, looking at Jason.

"It is nice, isn't it?"

Jason had nodded. Chaz, thinking of where Liam had been, nervously, was ready to continue on. He and Jason had to find him, quick. Chaz had tried to get Jason's attention, but he had been transfixed on the woman's eyes; she had been rubbing her necklace in the particular spot of where the stone was located, Jason not looking away or seeming even remotely interested in what had been going on around him.

"Would you like some tea?" she had asked Jason, smiling toothily.

"Yes," he replied, dryly. "I would love some."

What was this about? Chaz tried to get Jason's attention, and failed. She had looked at him, as well. Chaz felt a sensation of ultimate confusion as she rubbed her necklace's stone. Chaz had soon conjured a feeling that he would like nothing better than to do what she had commanded.

"Would YOU like some tea?"

"Yes," Chaz heard himself saying, his brain almost fighting it. "I would love some."

The woman had, with a nod, beckoned the two Lucarios down a path through the trees that had been naturally formed. She had been briskly walking.

"You would love to come visit me, yes?" she croaked.

"Yes." Jason and Chaz said simultaneously, walking behind her just as fast.

"From now on, you will refer to me as Dotulah."

"Yes, Dotulah." the Lucarios both stated in a monotonous manner. They had reached her home, which had been made of strong, red brick, looking somewhat old, as if the house had been standing for decades. Dotulah invited them inside.

"You won't be needing those weapons," she said, rubbing the necklace more as she stepped inside, a fire crackling in the fireplace. "Give them here."

The two Lucarios complied, handing their weapons over, though Chaz had a small twinge in his head that was positively refusing.

"Good, good," Dotulah declared, beaming. She set the weapons in the corner of the house, waving her hands again, coaxing them to follow her. Chaz and Jason had followed her until they had reached a door that had swung open to reveal a dark cellar.

"Tea's down there, dears."

Stupidly, though not being able to control it, the Lucarios walked down the steps into the dark, standing at the bottom of the steps. A few minutes later, the effects of the hypnosis had worn off, the door being latched shut, tightly. Chaz had been terrified, pacing the room.

"Where are we?! Did we get locked up?!"

"I don't remember even coming here..." Jason admitted. Chaz, for one, didn't either. What had happened? Were they knocked out, and taken away?

A tiny voice had issued from the corner, the two Lucarios not even seeing the source, being too dark.

"That hag's taken you too."

Chaz, shocked, looked over. A small boy had stepped out of the shadows. His hair had been medium length, and chocolate colored, from what Chaz could make out. The freckles on his face were plentiful.

"I'm glad I have someone to talk to with my voice, at least... No offense, Lola. I promise." the boy had peered over to the space underneath the steps, where a drained, blonde-haired, thin looking woman sat, not saying anything, though looking at them interestedly.

"Lola can't talk," he explained. "She can write though, usually in the dust. She told me she was born without being able to speak. It's sad; she's really nice, and tried to help me escape... I just want to see my mom again..."

"What are you doing here, kid?" Chaz asked, bewildered. His short stature had looked weary.

"...That old woman - Dot - tulah. She kidnapped us. Lola told me that the necklace the old woman's wearing can hypnotize everyone who stares into her eyes... Dotulah feeds us only what will fatten us up so she - so she can eat us. She's a cannibal, but why would she want to eat you, too?"

"I - I don't know. Maybe she likes the taste of Lucario." claimed Chaz.

The boy looked as if he were about to cry.

"I really want to see my mom... and my sister... Have you seen them?"

"Barak!?" Jason exclaimed. "Your name isn't Barak, is it?"

The boy nodded. "I am Barak. How - how did you know that? Did you see my mom? Did you see Miriam? She's my-"

"Sister," Chaz finished for him, smiling. Lola was slowly moving herself out, apparently feeling comfortable with her two new guests.

"Oh my... you two were sent by the heavens to rescue me! And Lola, too!"

"Bethany sent us to find you and Miriam. We went into the forest..." Chaz explained. "...but on the way, our friend was taken by a pack of mean looking orcs, and we were on our way to save him when-"

"Oh no!" Barak yelled. "Those fiends took Miriam! I just know it! If we get out of here in one piece... please find her."

Jason nodded. "We'll think of something to deal with that ugly crone, Dotulah, and save your sister, too."

Barak had suddenly hugged Jason around the waist, who looked embarrassed.

"You're warm," Barak uttered, still hugging him.

"...Thanks," said Jason awkwardly, Chaz giggling at them. Lola had even garnered a smile on her face, and if she could laugh, she would most likely be doing it now. Barak let go, saying his thanks in return.

"Your mother is worried sick," said Chaz with gloom. "I hope we can get outta here."

The others only peered at him, possibly thinking of ideas...

Liam had been taken, somewhat painfully, all the way to what appeared to be an orc's paradise; there had been too many of them to count. He had been thinking of Chaz and Jason ever since he had been carried away, and also couldn't get his mind off his wand that was in the hands of the grubby orc, Sargulg, who was probably getting it all dirtied up. The two orcs had been in conversation the entire trip.

"...Vorgak a bit too mean," the one carrying Liam's front had said. "He hit me the other day. With whip."

"Try seven times in one go, Uram!" a smarter-sounding orc countered. "I'll show you scars later!"

Uram groaned as he carried Liam on; the never ending conversation was driving him crazy. Were they ever going to reach their destination?

Liam's answer had come soon; he had been taken past a giant dirt circle and into a nearby tent, dropped in front of the biggest and ugliest orc yet, who had been sitting in some kind of a throne; it could only be "Master Xig". His skin wasn't as green as the two that had carried Liam in. Xig wasn't fat, though he definitely seemed big-boned; a thick mass of black beard traveled down to his chest from his chin and neck. His spiky, steel helmet had covered the top of his head completely, in fact, his armor was implanted with spikes all over.

Xig leaned towards the two orcs that had dropped Liam in, waving them away without so much as a second look towards them, staring down to Liam as he stood to his feet. His two goons had rushed away loudly, leaving only the two of them, though, that is what Liam thought before he saw a dangerous-looking female orc standing next to the entrance of the tent, not moving, as if she were a bodyguard.

"Not much, are you?" Xig finally mumbled after he had examined Liam from head to foot, not before releasing the chains. "Well, I suppose I could use you somehow."

Liam said nothing, being intimidated by the biggest orc he had ever seen, including the fantasy books that Dragos had in his study with "big orcs". He had wished to be back, safe and sound, in Elbery with his two friends, or at least have them with him, facing danger together.

"Well, speak up!" growled Xig. "What's your name?"

"Li...Li..." Liam stammered, almost as quietly as possible.

"Lee?"

Liam quivered, not wishing to correct him, to save himself from talking.

"Lee." Xig said, confirming he had heard what he had. He picked Liam up, standing him upright, taking a moment to comment on his apparel, holding the cloak in his enormous, pale-green hand.

"What a ridiculous costume..." he had concluded after his inspection.

Liam stood there, face burning in humiliation, tail swaying, while the female orc harshly laughed at him.

"...And you definitely don't look like fighting material, as I had said before."

"W-Where's my w-wand at?" stuttered Liam at that moment. Xig looked cheerful.

"You don't need a stupid wand! You're going to fight with your hands, hear me? Just like everyone else!"

"W-What?" Liam trembled.

"You're going to be my rising star, and if I start to like you, you'll be livin' high around here. And if you try and use those spikes on purpose, Shelur would be happy to ensure your execution. That's how it goes 'round here!" Xig said, as if it were a speech.

The female orc gave a nasty look towards Liam, who hadn't looked at her for more than a moment.

"What are you talking about...?" asked Liam, genuinely lost, trying to be brave.

"We do nothin' but fight here! Orcs, humans, goblins, zombies... All kinds of creatures willing to bust each other up for my entertainment! And if they don't put on a good show, I'll have them taken care of like that! Haw haw haw haw!"

Xig's laugh was terribly cold, making Liam shudder.

"Well, I'll just have to see how long you last. GRAAAT!" he screamed, making Liam hop almost a whole foot into the air.

Grat was yet another orc who had come stumbling in seconds later. Funnily, he was exactly Liam's size, and Liam had thought it odd that he was so tiny, thinking that all orcs were big and scary.

"Y-Yeh?!" Grat huffed.

"Take him to the big tent. With the fighters."

Grat nodded, holding a shortsword at Liam. "Get movin'."

The small orc had promptly led Liam out of the tent, past a few of his armed comrades, who looked at the Lucario as if he were meat. Grat ripped off Liam's cloak, and also removed his deep blue hat as they reached a second, very large tent.

"Get in. And don't try running. You'll die." Grat informed blandly.

Liam nervously walked inside, holding his breath, hearing Grat step away with his attire. There had not been much in this tent besides several combatants; a human male, who looked as if he were a barbarian, judging from the clothes he wore and the straggly golden hair; a brown anthropomorphic wolf who seemed on edge; a tall, ugly creature with slate-blue skin and very long legs; a ghoul who sat alone in the corner with eyes that were completely lifeless, and finally, a red-headed, human female who looked as if she were a rogue. Liam strode up to her, politely.

"H-Hi... I'm new to this... thing."

"AY!" the barbarian shouted suddenly. "Tha's my woman!"

He strode over to them, looking intent on beating Liam up, but the female had stood in front of Liam, blocking him.

"I am not your girl, Charmides. If you say that again, I'm really going to hurt you."

The others had looked on, minus the ghoul, who looked as if he were staring at the ground.

"Aw, you know I love when you get fired up..." Charmides smiled. "I w'll love you forev'r, Ayene."

Ayene looked completely disgusted. "Let's go over here," she said to Liam, who followed her to the opposite corner of the room. She faced him towards the crew.

"Welcome, I guess... You've met Charmides. A real meat-headed barbarian, and he's in love with me. Just, ew." Ayene explained. "Over there is Mathias," she said, pointing out the wolf-man, who was napping in a chair. "Seems to really hold a grudge against you already; did you see the way he was looking at you when Charmides woke him up? I think he told me he's got some kind of rivalry with one of your kind... You ARE a Lucario, right?"

Liam nodded. Ayene sighed, continuing. "That big, blue guy? That's Frayzer... he's a Duskam. Do you know what Duskams are? Well," she said, before Liam could answer her. "They're kind of dying out, but they're usually pretty vicious in the wild, and Frayzer's kind of nice, when you can understand him. They hunt usually at night on forest dwellers, anyway. Beats me how those orcs caught him..."

Frayzer had been talking, or rather, groaning to Charmides, towering over him, despite Charmide's bulk. Duskams were obviously very tall as a species.

"...The ghoul over there, I don't even know what his name is. He's kind of creepy, isn't he? Nobody even named him, I guess. They just call him 'The Ghoul'."

Liam had once again looked at the ghoul, who hadn't moved an inch since Liam had arrived in the tent.

"That's all of 'em... For now. We used to have a few other cool individuals here. They died in the ring," she looked glum as Liam gasped. "Yeah, Xig has lied to you. And want to know how I knew? Because he tells everyone that he'll let them go if he starts to like them. I've been here almost as long as Charmides, who used to not show his love for me, if you're wondering. Anyway, Xig never lets anyone go. He's been running this thing for years. And trying to escape is bad, and I wouldn't recommend it... I knew this guy who went by Ryan Bullseye. The orcs beat and slashed him 'till death with their weapons for trying to run away."

At the end of her one-sided conversation, Liam had apprehensively looked around again at the remaining fighters. Where were Chaz and Jason? He couldn't stay here, fighting until he was dead.

"You aren't a fist fighter, are you? You just don't seem like it," Ayene prompted, to a shrug from Liam.

"Th-they took my wand..." he mumbled half-incoherently.

"Wand?" she interrogated, surprised.

"I can do magic-" Liam offhandedly remarked, but there had been an interruption. A small girl had come in, holding a tray of food.

"Aw, look at little Miriam, there. Poor girl, she was recently caught and put to work-"

Miriam? Liam thought. Bethany's daughter? She was here, of all places?

"Would'ya like something?" Miriam kindly asked the two of them as she had gotten around to it. Liam didn't know what to say, at all... 


End file.
